UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


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PUMPS 


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BY    PROF.    AUGUSTUS    H.    GILL 

OF  THE  MASSACHUSETTS  INSTITUTE  OF   TECHNOLOGY 

ENGINE  ROOM  CHEMISTRY 

BY  HUBERT   E.   COLLINS 

BOILERS  KNOCKS  AND  KINKS 

SHAFT  GOVERNORS  PUMPS 

ERECTING  WORK  SHAFTING,    PULLEYS    AND 
PIPES  AND  PIPING  BELTING 

BY  E.  E.  MATTHEWS 
REFRIGERATION.     (In  Preparation.) 


HILL   PUBLISHING    COMPANY 

505  PEARL  STREET,  NEW  YORK 

6  BOUVERIE  STREET,  LONDON,  E.G. 


THE    POWER    HANDBOOKS 


PUMPS 


TROUBLES  AND  REMEDIES 


COMPILED  AND  WRITTEN 
BY 

HUBERT    E.    COLLINS 

v\ 


UNIVERSITY    j 

OF  ' 


1908 
HILL    PUBLISHING    COMPANY 

505  PEARL   STREET,  NEW  YORK 

6  BOUVERIE  STREET,  LONDON,  E.G. 

American  Machinist  —  Power  —  The  Engineering  and  Mining  Journal 


Copyright,  1908,  BY  THE    HILL   PUBLISHING    COMPANY 


All  rights  reserved 


u 


Hill  Publishing  Company,  New  Tork,  U.S.A. 


CONTENTS 

CHAP.  PAGE 

I    PUMP  TROUBLES i 

II    PUMP  TROUBLES n 

III  PUMP  TROUBLES 19 

IV  PUMP  TROUBLES       .     .     . ' 28 

V    SOME  PUMP  REPAIRS 34 

VI    SETTING  VALVES  OF  DUPLEX  PUMP 43 

VII     ANOTHER  METHOD  OF  SETTING  DUPLEX  PUMP  VALVES  55 

VIII    A  CENTRIFUGAL  PUMP  TROUBLE 58 

IX    BOILER  FEED-PUMPS 60 

X      HORSE-POWER   OF    PUMPS 63 

XI    To  INDICATE  THE  AMOUNT  OF  FEED- WATER  PUMPED 

INTO  BOILERS 65 

XII    PUMPING  TAR  AND  OTHER  HEAVY  LIQUIDS     ...  69 

XIII  PUMPING  MACHINERY  PERFORMANCES 72 

XIV  GENERAL   DIRECTIONS  FOR  SETTING  UP  AND  OPERA- 

TING PUMPS 74 

XV     USEFUL  INFORMATION 78 

XVI    USEFUL  TABLES  81 


1  Q  a  A  Q  n 


OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY 

CF 

t£4UFORg^X 

INTRODUCTION 


THE  solution  for  many  of  the  puzzling  troubles  with 
pumps  which  every  engineer  is  liable  to  encounter 
will  be  found  in  this  work.  There  are  also  a  number 
of  unusual  instances  of  repairs,  which  may  prove  of 
much  value  where  pumps  are  seemingly  broken  down 
beyond  use,  and  these  special  instances  will  often 
suggest  other  possibilities  of  the  same  sort. 

Two  chapters  are  given  to  the  important  matter  of  set- 
ting the  valves  of  duplex  pumps,  and  much  attention 
is  given  to  this  same  subject  throughout  the  book. 
It  is  believed  that  a  careful  perusal  of  these  pages  will 
give  the  reader  a  sufficient  number  of  illustrations  in 
the  operation  and  repairs  of  pumps  to  handle  any 
difficulty  that  may  arise  in  the  ordinary  operation  of  a 
steam-pump  plant. 

The  compiler  of  this  volume  is  indebted  to  those 
contributors  of  Power  whose  names  appear  in  con- 
nection with  the  various  articles,  and  to  the  following 
special  contributors  whose  suggestions  and  works 
have  been  found  useful:  Earl  F.  Webster,  W.  A.  Dow 
and  Samuel  S.  Murdock. 

HUBERT  E.  COLLINS. 

NEW  YORK,  October,  1908. 


PUMP  TROUBLES1 

THE  first  duty  of  an  engineer  in  a  new  plant,  be- 
fore an  attempt  is  made  to  start  the  pump,  is  to  get 
acquainted  with  the  discharge  and  boiler-feed  pipes, 
making  sure  that  all  the  valves  are  open  that  should 
be  open.  Of  course  this  is  not  necessary  taking  in 
charge  of  a  plant  where  the  present  engineer  is  going 
to  leave,  as  in  most  instances  the  old  engineer  will 
show  the  new  man  all  he  wants  to  know  about  the 
piping  arrangement.  Where  an  engineer  has  been 
discharged,  however,  the  engineer  who  takes  his  place 
usually  has  to  start  up  without  this  friendly  aid. 

At  one  small  steam-plant,  an  attempt  was  made 
after  having  the  fires  started  under  the  boilers,  to  start 
the  boiler  feed-pump,  but  before  doing  this  what  was 
supposed  were  the  valves  on  the  discharge  and  feed- 
pipes were  opened  in  the  belief  that  the  arrangement 
was  as  is  shown  in  Fig.  i .  When  the  pump  was  started 
it  was  not  feeding  water  to  the  boilers.  Nothing  was 
found  wrong.  Then  the  discharge  and  feed-pipes 
were  inspected  and  it  was  found  that  the  valve  A  had 
been  opened  the  night  before.  Upon  inquiry  the 
information  was  elicited  that  the  pipe  was  supplying 


1  Contributed  to  Power  by  H.  Jahnke. 

I 


2  PUMPS 

hot  water  for  the  factory  and  the  valve  was  only 
opened  a  few  times  during  the  day.  The  pump  re- 
ceived hot  water  under  pressure  from  a  heater,  and 
when  hot  water  was  wanted  in  the  factory  the  feed- 
valves  B  and  C  were  closed  and  the  valve  A  opened 
for  a  short  time;  then  the  valve  A  was  closed  and  B 
and  C  opened.  This  appeared  to  be  a  bad  arrange- 
ment, so  it  was  changed  by  connecting  the  pipe  for 
the  factory  directly  to  the  heater,  which  was  of  the 
closed  type  and  received  water  from  the  city  main. 


To  Faotorj 


FIG.    I 

In  some  new  plants  after  the  discharge  and  feed- 
pipes are  put  in  and  in  use,  it  is  found  that  the  arrange- 
ment is  not  what  it  should  be,  and  careless  engineers, 
instead  of  making  the  needed  changes  at  once,  although 
there  has  been  ample  time  to  think  it  all  out,  wait 
until  something  goes  wrong  and  then  make  the  changes 
in  a  hurry. 


PUMP  TROUBLES  3 

PROBABLE  CAUSES  OF  PUMP  TROUBLES 

If  upon  starting  a  pump  it  is  found  that  it  pounds, 
this  may  be  due  to  various  causes,  such  as  insufficient 
water  supply  due  to  an  obstruction  in  the  suction 
pipe,  a  leaky  foot-valve,  a  loose  water-piston  or  loose 
nuts.  Also  the  water-piston  may  have  a  tighter  fit 
at  some  point  of  the  stroke,  due  to  unequal  cylinder 
wear,  in  which  case  reboring  the  cylinder  will  be  in 
order.  Then,  again,  if  the  pump  is  of  the  duplex 
type,  the  pound  may  be  due  to  improper  setting  of 
the  steam-valves. 

If  a  pump  fails  to  draw  water  this  may  be  due  to 
the  following  causes:  If  taking  water  from  a  well  or 
other  supply,  either  the  foot-valve  of  the  suction  pipe 
may  leak;  the  suction  pipe  may  be  too  small,  there 
may  be  some  obstruction  in  the  suction  pipe  or  in  parts 
leading  to  the  water  cylinder;  the  lift  may  be  too 
high;  the  water  valves  may  leak  or  break;  foreign 
matter  may  have  lodged  beneath  the  suction  or  dis- 
charge valves;  the  packing  on  the  water-piston  may 
be  worn  out  and  leaking;  the  seats  of  the  suction  and 
discharge  valves  may  be  broken,  or  the  water  valves 
may  be  prevented  from  lifting  because  the  springs 
were  screwed  down  too  tightly. 

If  a  pump  is  supposed  to  receive  water  under  pres- 
sure yet  fails  to  get  water,  it  may  be  due  to  some  valve 
in  the  supply  pipe  not  being  opened;  or  the  supply 
pipe  may  be  clogged  up;  or  there  is  a  loose  disk  or  a 
break  in  some  valve  which  prevents  the  full  supply 
going  to  the  pump;  the  valves  may  not  be  wide  open; 


4  PUMPS 

the  supply  pipe  may  be  too  small;  the  supply  pipe 
may  also  furnish  water  for  some  other  purpose  in  the 
factory  and  may  be  too  small  to  supply  both  pump  and 
factory.  If  a  pump  receives  water  under  pressure 
from  the  city  main,  the  supply  pipe  should  be  run 
direct  from  the  water  meter  to  the  pump,  and  not 
used  for  any  other  purpose,  unless  the  pipe  is  large 
enough  to  supply  enough  water  for  both  places. 

Engineers  are  often  troubled  by  a  groaning  noise 
in  pumps;  this  groaning  may  be  due  to  any  of  the 
following  causes:  The  cylinder  oil  used  may  be  too 
heavy  (cases  are  known  where  the  use  of  lighter  oil 
has  cured  the  trouble);  the  piston-ring  edges  may 
have  become  so  sharp  that  they  scrape  the  oil  from 
the  cylinder  walls;  if  the  water-piston  packing  is  too 
tight,  the  excessive  friction  will  cause  a  groaning. 

GRAPHITE  MIXTURE  CURES  GROANING 

Groaning  in  a  cylinder  can  often  be  cured  by  the 
application  of  graphite  mixed  with  cylinder  oil,  forced 
into  the  cylinder  with  a  hand  pump. 

Figure  2  shows  a  good  arrangement  to  place  on  pumps 
for  feeding  graphite  and  oil  to  the  pumps  once  a  day, 
or  as  often  as  may  be  necessary.  A  2-inch  nipple 
about  5  inches  long  is  provided,  with  a  2  x  J-inch  re- 
ducer on  each  end;  one  end  is  screwed  directly  into  the 
steam-chest  by  means  of  a  J-inch  close  nipple,  and  on 
the  other  end  is  a  J-inch  close  nipple  with  a  J-inch  tee. 
Then  a  close  nipple  and  valve  are  placed  in  the  steam- 
pipe  of  the  pump  above  the  valve,  and  a  pipe  is  run 
from  the  valve  to  the  feeder,  as  shown.  The  reason 


PUMP  TROULBES 


for  placing  the  valve  above  the  pump  valve  is  to  be 
able  to  use  the  full  boiler  pressure  to  force  the  graphite 
into  the  cylinder  when  the  pump  is  throttled  down. 


FIG.    2 


The  operation  is  as  follows:  When  it  is  necessary  to 
feed  the  graphite  mixture,  the  plug  A  is  removed  from 
the  tee  and  a  supply  of  graphite  and  oil  placed  in  the 


6  PUMPS 

feeder,  the  plug  is  replaced  and  the  valves  B  and  C  are 
opened,  when  the  graphite  will  be  forced  into  the 
steam-chest  and  cylinder. 

CORRECTING  UNEQUAL  STROKE 

One  side  of  a  duplex  steam-pump  used  to  make  a 
shorter  stroke  than  the  other,  due  to  the  water  cylinder 
being  worn,  and  no  amount  of  adjusting  of  the  steam 
valves  would  remedy  the  trouble.  Then  was  tried  the 
following  method,  which  readily  overcame  the  diffi- 
culty: The  piston  and  rod  were  removed  from  the 
troublesome  side  of  the  pump  and  the  walls  of  the 
cylinder  were  covered  with  graphite  mixed  with  a 
little  engine-oil,  well  rubbed  in;  the  piston  and  rod 
were  replaced  and  the  pump  was  run  slowly  with  no 
water  in  the  water  end  for  a  short  time;  then  the 
pump  was  put  in  service  again,  when  this  side  ran 
much  better  than  the  other.  The  other  side  was 
treated  in  like  manner,  when  both  pistons  made  a  full, 
even  stroke,  and  when  the  pump  was  not  in  service 
the  pistons  could  be  moved  easily  by  hand,  which 
showed  that  there  was  not  much  friction  in  the  water 
cylinder.  It  was  also  found  that  the  water-piston 
packing  will  last  much  longer,  and  that  this  treatment 
is  likewise  excellent  for  the  steam  cylinders  of  pumps 
and  even  engines,  and  they  are  so  treated  whenever 
the  pistons  are  taken  out  for  any  reason. 

If  a  pump  begins  to  run  more  slowly  with  the  steam 
valve  wide  open,  if  the  pump  is  in  good  condition,  the 
trouble  may  be  due  to  an  obstruction  in  the  feed-pipes, 
such  as  scale. 


PUMP  TROUBLES  7 

A  short  time  ago  a  pump  began  to  slow  up  every 
day,  with  the  steam-valve  wide  open.  At  first  it  was 
thought  that  the  steam-piston  was  running  dry,  but 
feeding  more  oil  did  not  remedy  the  trouble;  then  the 
check-valves  on  the  feed-pipes  were  examined,  when 
it  was  found  that  the  checks  were  so  covered  with  scale 
that  they  could  not  lift  sufficiently  to  admit  the  water 
the  pump  forced  into  the  pipes,  and  of  course  the 
pumps  had  to  slow  up.  When  the  checks  were  cleaned 
the  pump  worked  as  before.  Engineers  who  use  very 
dirty  water  for  the  boilers  should  examine  the  check- 
valves  in  the  feed-pipes  whenever  the  boilers  are 
washed  out. 

Frequently  engineers  fail  to  examine  the  packing  in 
the  water-piston  until  the  pump  refuses  to  supply 
water  to  the  boilers,  or  otherwise  behaves  badly,  and 
when  looking  for  the  cause  they  find  that  most  of  the 
water-piston  packing  has  disappeared  and  may  be 
lodged  beneath  the  water  valves  or  in  the  feed-pipes. 
This  is  obviously  bad  practice;  the  cylinder-head 
should  be  removed  frequently  to  see  what  condition 
this  packing  is  in.  If  it  begins  to  show  signs  of  giving 
out,  it  should  be  removed  at  once  and  replaced  by  new 
packing,  no  matter  if  the  pump  has  been  doing  good 
service,  for  if  this  is  not  done  the  pump  is  liable  to 
fail  at  any  moment. 

The  water  valves  should  be  examined  in  like  manner, 
and  if  it  is  found  that  they  are  beginning  to  leak, 
valves  of  hard  composition,  such  as  are  used  in  pumps 
handling  hot  water,  should  be  refaced  at  once  by  rub- 
bing the  valve  on  a  sheet  of  fine  sandpaper  laid  on  a 


8  PUMPS 

smooth,  flat  surface.  It  is  also  a  good  plan  to  have 
a  good  set  of  new  valves  in  stock,  as  one  can  never  tell 
when  a  valve  is  going  to  break  or  meet  with  some 
other  accident.  Another  bad  practice  is  to  start  a 
steam-pump  in  the  morning,  after  it  has  been  standing 
idle  for  some  hours,  without  opening  the  drain-cocks 
on  the  bottom  of  the  steam  cylinder.  These  cocks 
should  be  opened  so  that  the  water  of  condensation 
will  drain  out  of  the  cylinder.  They  should  be  closed 
again,  of  course,  as  soon  as  the  condensate  is  blown 
out  of  the  cylinder. 

A  Knowles  single-cylinder  steam-pump,  used  for 
boiler  feeding,  started  to  give  trouble  one  day  by 
stopping  at  one  end  of  the  stroke.  Adjusting  the 
rocker  connection  bolt  so  as  to  equalize  the  stroke 
would  not  help  the  trouble. 

When  the  pump  was  taken  apart  it  was  found  there 
was  too  much  lost  motion  between  the  lug  on  the  slide- 
valve  and  where  this  lug  fits  into  a  slot  in  the  steam- 
chest  piston.  To  take  up  the  lost  motion  a  piece  of 
heavy  sheet  iron  was  riveted  on  each  side  of  the  lug 
as  shown  in  Fig.  3  at  A  and  B.  After  this  was  done 
and  the  stroke  was  adjusted,  the  pump  ran  nicely. 

In  another  case  a  single-cylinder  steam-pump  re- 
ceived hot  water  under  pressure.  One  day  this  pump 
failed  to  furnish  enough  water,  and  on  examination 
it  was  found  that  two  of  the  water  valves  had  broken. 
When  they  were  replaced  by  new  valves  the  pump 
worked  a  little  better,  but  had  to  be  run  at  a  higher 
speed  than  before.  Again  examining  the  water  end, 
it  was  found  that  the  new  valves  did  not  seat  properly, 


PUMP   TROUBLES 


due  to  scale  around  the  valve-studs.  Where  a  pump 
receives  hot  water  scale  will  form  on  the  valve-seats 
and  valves  and  in  time  will  break  in  some  places, 
when  of  course  the  valve  will  leak  and  the  engineer 
may  look  a  long  time  for  the  cause  of  the  trouble. 


Chest  Piston 
.'Valve  Rod 


-Kocker  Boiler 


Main  Slide  Valve 
FIG.    3 

When  putting  in  new  valves,  the  seats  and  valve- 
studs  should  receive  a  good  cleaning. 

It  is  not  advisable  to  use  hot-water  valves  until  they 
are  in  bad  condition,  but  they  should  be  taken  out 
occasionally  and  rubbed  over  a  piece  of  sandpaper; 
also  overhaul  the  valve-seats. 

A  duplex  steam-pump  which  received  water  under 
pressure  and  which  is  used  for  boiler  feeding,  failed  to 
supply  enough  water.  Examination  of  the  water 
valves  and  piston  showed  nothing  wrong,  so  the  pump 
was  started  again,  when  it  was  noticed  it  was  supplying 
plenty  of  water.  This  was  a  puzzle  until  it  was  found 
that  the  drain  valves  from  the  water  cylinder  were 
not  closed  at  night,  and  when  the  pump  was  started 


io  PUMPS 

after  examination,  the  drain  valves  were  closed,  so 
that  the  water  which  at  first  went  into  the  sewer 
afterward  went  to  the  boilers. 

Some  engineers  have  the  bad  practice  of  letting  a 
feed-pump  run  until  it  fails  to  furnish  water.  Some 
day  they  may  get  caught  with  low  water  in  the  boilers 
and  the  pump  in  bad  shape  and  if  there  is  no  other 
means  of  feeding,  it  may  be  a  case  of  shutting  down 
the  plant  until  the  pump  is  repaired. 


II 

PUMP  TROUBLES1 

THERE  is  probably  no  machine  which  is  more  gener- 
ally used  in  plants  of  all  kinds  where  steam  is  used 
for  power  than  the  steam-pump,  either  for  feeding 
boilers  or  for  elevating  water  for  various  other  purposes, 
and  it  is  doubtful  if  there  is  anything  which  can  cause 
more  trouble  and  worry  to  the  engineer  in  charge  than 
a  troublesome  pump.  Still,  it  would  be  hard  to  find 
a  more  simple  machine,  and  it  is  the  object  of  this 
chapter  to  touch  briefly  upon  some  of  its  numerous 
troubles,  their  causes  and  remedies. 

In  the  instruction  in  the  manufacturers'  catalogues 
a  statement  something  like  this  will  often  be  found: 
"Be  sure  the  water  end  is  all  right  before  disturbing 
the  steam  end."  They  certainly  have  good  cause  for 
inserting  such  a  statement.  It  is  well-nigh  impossible 
for  anything  to  go  wrong  with  the  pistons  or  valves, 
and  yet  what  more  is  there  in  the  steam  end?  Not- 
withstanding this,  men  work  almost  a  whole  day 
changing  the  setting  of  the  steam-valves  to  make  a 
pump  stroke  regularly,  when  the  trouble  was  mani- 
festly in  the  water  end;  and  after  spending  several 
hours  in  fruitless  work,  they  would  have  the  valves 

1  Contributed  to  Power  by  S.  L.  Brainerd. 
II 


12  PUMPS 

set  wrong  and  would  not  know  how  to  set  them 
properly.  If  it  is  a  single  pump  it  is  beyond  the  scope 
of  this  article  to  tell  him  how  to  set  the  valves,  as 
every  make  of  single  pump  requires  special  directions; 
but  one  way,  and  a  good  way,  to  set  duplex  pump 
valves  is  simply  this:  Remove  the  steam-chest  cover 
and  set  both  pistons  in  the  middle  of  their  strokes. 
Then  set  the  valves  in  the  middle  of  their  strokes;  i.e., 
so  they  just  cover  both  steam  ports.  Now  there  is  in 
all  duplex  pumps  a  certain  amount  of  lost  motion  in 
the  valve-gear;  that  is,  the  valve-stem  travels  a  certain 
distance  before  it  can  move  the  valve.  Adjust  the 
valve-stems  so  that  this  lost  motion  is  equally  divided 
on  each  side  of  the  valve,  being  sure  the  valve  is  in  its 
middle  position.  In  other  words,  to  set  duplex  pump 
valves  set  everything  in  its  middle  position.  The 
valves  are  properly  set  now,  and  unless  something 
slips,  you  need  never  trouble  about  them  again. 

A  pump  is  harder  on  packing  than  an  engine,  because 
it  takes  steam  at  boiler  pressure  the  full  stroke  - 
provided,  of  course,  the  throttle  is  wide  open  so  it 
can  get  boiler  pressure  —  while  an  engine  only  takes 
the  steam  at  boiler  pressure  up  to  the  point  of  cut-off, 
after  which  the  pressure  and  temperature  drop  rapidly. 
The  writer  has  charge  of  six  pumps,  and  one  of  them, 
a  compound  condensing  pump,  with  cylinders  and 
heads  steam  jacketed,  would  burn  up  enough  packing 
on  the  high-pressure  rods  to  run  the  whole  plant, 
engines  and  all,  until  a  little  tube  was  run  to  each  rod 
and  fed  cylinder  oil  on  them  very  slowly.  This  was  a 
great  help.  This  same  pump  had  a  chronic  groan  in 


PUMP   TROUBLES  13 

the  low-pressure  cylinders,  and  did  some  little  cutting 
even  with  4  pints  of  oil  in  twenty-four  hours,  until 
graphite  and  oil  was  fed  to  it,  and  now  it  runs  six 
weeks  on  4  gallons  of  oil,  without  a  groan. 

It  makes  no  difference  whether  a  pump  is  of  the 
piston  pattern  or  outside  or  inside  packed  plunger 
pattern;  they  are  all  heir  to  the  same  troubles,  and  in 
a  general  way  the  same  trouble  is  remedied  in  the 
same  way  in  either  style.  For  instance,  if  a  pump 
runs  smoothly  for  three  strokes  of  the  revolution  and 
jerks  back  suddenly  on  the  fourth,  it  always  indicates 
a  defective  valve  in  the  water  end,  but  there  is  no  way 
of  telling  whether  it  is  a  discharge  valve  in  the  end 
which  the  plunger  is  leaving,  or  a  suction  valve  in  the 
end  which  it  is  approaching,  except  to  remove  the 
hand-hole  plates  and  examine  the  valves  until  the  one 
is  found  which  is  causing  the  trouble.  Referring  to 
Fig.  4,  it  is  evident  that  if  the  suction  valve  A  is  broken, 
or  if  the  entire  valve-seat  is  knocked  out  of  the  valve 
deck,  as  sometimes  happens,  the  water,  instead  of 
being  forced  through  the  discharge  valves  B  against 
the  pressure,  will  simply  surge  back  through  the 
suction  valve  A  and  flow  into  the  cylinder  through 
suction  valves  C,  thereby  relieving  the  piston  of  practi- 
cally all  resistance  and  causing  it  to  jerk  back  to  the 
head  end  suddenly.  Similarly,  if  the  discharge  valve 
D  is  broken,  when  the  piston  moves  towards  the  yoke 
7  it  forces  the  water  into  the  force  chamber  against 
the  pressure,  but  when  it  returns  towards  the  head 
end  //,  valve  D  fails  to  hold  the  water  back  and  it 
surges  around  from  B  through  D  into  the  cylinder, 


I4  PUMPS 

relieving  the  piston  of  resistance,  the  same  as  in  the 
case  of  the  broken  suction  valve. 


FIG.    4 

It  is  therefore  evident  that  a  sudden  stroke  towards 
the  head  end  is  caused  either  by  a  defective  suction 
valve  in  the  head  end  or  by  a  defective  discharge  valve 
in  the  yoke  end,  and  vice  versa.  A  sudden  stroke 
towards  the  yoke  end  indicates  a  defective  suction 
valve  in  the  yoke  end  or  a  defective  discharge  valve 
in  the  head  end.  The  degree  of  suddenness  or  freedom 
with  which  the  stroke  occurs  evidently  depends  upon 
the  extent  of  the  leak.  Frequently  a  small  hole  in  a 
valve  does  not  allow  enough  water  to  pass  to  cause 


PUMP   TROUBLES  15 

any  perceptible  irregularity  in  the  action  of  a  com- 
paratively large  pump,  and  it  can  be  detected  by  the 
noise  of  the  water  surging  through  it,  and  should  be 
remedied  as  quickly  as  possible.  Should  a  serious 
defect  of  this  kind  exist  when  the  pump  is  started,  it 
will  usually  fail  to  create  a  vacuum  in  the  suction  and 
to  pick  up  its  water. 

The  maximum  theoretical  lift  of  a  pump  is  about 
33  feet,  but  in  practice  28  feet  is  about  all  that  can  be 
relied  upon,  provided  the  pump  is  almost  directly  over 
the  source  of  supply.  When  the  suction  is  carried 
any  distance  to  the  pump,  a  very  good  rule  for  a  rough 
estimate  is  to  consider  100  feet  horizontal  distance 
equal  to  i  foot  vertical  lift.  However,  a  28-foot  lift  is 
not  to  be  recommended  unless  absolutely  necessary. 
It  is  essential  that  the  suction  system  be  perfectly  air 
tight,  especially  in  case  of  a  considerable  lift,  in  order 
that  a  good  vacuum  may  be  formed  and  allow  the 
atmospheric  pressure  to  force  the  water  into  the  pump. 
A  serious  leak  may  be  detected  either  by  the  refusal  of 
the  pump  to  pick  up  the  water  or  by  a  knock  at  the 
beginning  of  the  stroke,  caused  by  the  cylinder  being 
only  partially  fitted  with  water.  Remember  that  a 
small  quantity  of  air  in  the  suction  expands  to  a  con- 
siderable volume  when  under  a  vacuum  of,  say,  15  to 
20  inches.  When  this  is  drawn  into  the  cylinder  and 
is  compressed  to  100  pounds  or  more,  it  allows  the 
piston  to  travel  some  little  distance  before  it  strikes 
the  water,  thus  causing  the  knock.  This  knock  may 
be  avoided  by  admitting  a  little  water  into  the  suction 
through  the  priming  pipe.  Whenever  possible  the 


16  PUMPS 

suction  pipe  should  be  brought  up  to  the  pump  at  right 
angles  to  the  direction  in  which  it  enters,  and  then  be 
brought  into  it  with  an  ell  and  a  short  piece  of  pipe  in 
order  to  provide  a  more  flexible  connection  and  take 
up  the  vibration  of  the  pump.  In  this  way  many  a 
leaky  suction  will  be  avoided,  as  the  vibration  will  not 
act  in  a  direct  line  with  the  pipe;  and  this  will  more 
than  offset  the  slight  additional  friction  caused  by  the 
turn,  especially  if  a  long  radius  bend  is  used.  The 
writer  knows  of  one  instance  where  a  1 2-inch  cast-iron 
suction  was  cemented  rigidly  into  a  heavy  wall;  and 
although  the  pump  did  not  appear  to  vibrate  more 
than  usual,  the  flange  was  broken  off  within  a  week. 
A  suction  with  lead-calked  joints  is  particularly  trouble- 
some from  leaks  caused  by  this  vibration. 

In  order  to  cushion  the  pulsations  in  the  discharge 
an  ample  air  chamber  should  be  provided,  and  it 
should  by  all  means  be  fitted  with  a  gage  glass,  so  that 
the  amount  of  air  in  it  may  be  seen  at  all  times.  The 
makers  frequently  do  not  provide  for  this;  but  if  they 
do  not,  the  engineer  will  do  well  to  put  one  on,  because 
these  air  chambers  very  often  get  filled  with  water  and 
then  are  of  no  service.  They  should  at  all  times  be  at 
least  half  full  of  air.  Very  often  a  heavy  water  ham- 
mer will  occur  at  about  mid-stroke  on  high-duty 
pumps,  if  the  air  chamber  is  allowed  to  fill  with  water, 
and  this  is  very  hard  on  the  pump  in  general.  If  no 
better  provision  is  made  for  getting  air  into  it,  tap  the 
suction  at  the  pump  and  put  in  a  J-inch  pet  cock,  and 
open  this  very  little  until  the  proper  amount  of  air  is 
obtained,  but  be  careful  not  to  open  it  too  wide,  or  the 


PUMP  TROUBLES  17 

pump  will  knock  from  air  in  the  suction.  Sometimes 
it  is  necessary  to  run  with  this  pet  cock  open  most  of 
the  time. 

As  a  general  thing  pumps  are  packed  entirely  too 
tight,  causing  excessive  wear  on  the  bushings  and 
plungers  and  consuming  an  enormous  amount  of 
power.  Engineers  would  do  well  to  give  more  thought 
and  attention  to  packing  generally.  A  good  way  to 
pack  a  piston  pump  is  to  make  a  light  brass  or  cast- 
iron  bull-ring  to  fit  loosely  over  the  piston  and  with 
just  spring  enough  to  hold  the  packing  in  position, 
and  cut  the  packing  with  lap  joints,  just  like  snap  rings 
in  a  steam-piston,  allowing  a  very  slight  side  play 
between  it  and  the  follower.  The  water  will  get 
under  it  and  set  it  out,  insuring  a  good  joint  with  loose 
packing.  Packing  applied  in  this  way  wears  longer 
than  when  clamped  tightly  between  the  followers. 
Sometimes  in  packing  small  pumps  the  packing  is  so 
stiff  and  hard  as  to  make  it  difficult  to  bend  it  and  put 
it  in  place.  By  soaking  it  in  hot  water  a  few  minutes 
it  becomes  quite  pliable.  Personally,  the  writer  pre- 
fers the  outside-packed  plunger  type  to  all  others, 
for  several  reasons.  In  the  first  place,  the  heads  do 
not  have  to  be  removed  for  packing  and  inspection, 
and  on  large  pumps  this  is  no  small  item.  If  the  pack- 
ing is  leaking  it  is  seen  at  a  glance,  and  the  glands  can 
be  set  up,  which  would  not  be  the  case  in  an  inside- 
packed  pump.  The  soft  packing  is  much  easier  on 
the  plungers  than  the  hard  packing  usually  used  in 
other  styles,  and  it  may  be  run  just  barely  tight  enough 
to  prevent  leakage. 


i8  PUMPS 

It  is  a  mistake  to  run  a  pump  without  lubricating 
the  water  end  rods  and  plungers,  as  well  as  the  steam 
end,  whenever  possible.  A  great  many  engineers 
claim  the  Water  lubricates  them  sufficiently,  but  after 
trying  them  with  and  without  oil,  it  is  found  that 
the  packing  will  last  much  longer  and  the  rods  and 
plungers  will  be  in  much  better  condition  when  oil  is 
used,  to  say  nothing  of  the  saving  in  power.  Pipe  up 
the  water  end  for  oil  the  same  as  the  steam  end,  and 
frequently  dust  fine  graphite  on  them  with  an  ordinary 
squirt-can  and  the  surfaces  soon  become  coated  with 
it,  and  it  does  not  wash  off  readily. 


Ill 

PUMP  TROUBLES 

FIGURE  5  illustrates  one  side  of  a  duplex  pump  fitted 
with  a  gland  for  the  stuffing-box  that  is  held  in  place 
by  nuts  on  two  studs.  When  the  packing  in  such  a 
stuffing-box  begins  to  leak  steam,  the  engineer  proceeds 


to  screw  these  nuts  on  further,  but  he  does  not  always 
deem  it  necessary  to  turn  them  both  alike,  hence  the 
gland  binds  on  the  rod,  scoring  it  until  it  becomes 
fluted  instead  of  round. 

Whenever  it  is  necessary  to  tighten  these  nuts,  it  is 
a  good  idea  to  light  a  candle  and  hold  it  close  to  the 
face  of  gland,  then  adjust  the  nuts  so  that  the  rod  will 
be  exactly  central  in  the  gland. 

19 


20 


PUMPS 


On  some  of  the  pumps  furnished  us  these  studs  are 
too  short,  for  when  packing  the  stuffing-box  the  last 
ring  may  not  go  wholly  into  the  box,  unless  a  reason- 
able pressure  is  applied  to  it,  and  this  cannot  be  done 
unless  the  studs  are  long  enough  to  project  through 
the  gland  while  it  is  still  about  i-inch  distant  from  the 
box. 

Pump  manufacturers  are  beginning  to  understand 
this  and  make  the  studs  accordingly  longer,  but  some 
of  the  older  ones  are  defective  in  this  respect.  Of 
course  it  is  possible  to  get  a  hardwood  stick  and  a  steel 
hammer  and  drive  the  packing  into  place,  but  that  is 
an  antiquated  scheme  that  should  be  discarded. 


FIG.    6 

Figure  6  illustrates  another  style  with  which  it  is 
impossible  to  make  the  above-mentioned  mistake, 
because  the  gland  is  much  smaller  and  there  are  no 
studs  on  which  to  adjust  nuts,  but  instead  there  is  one 
large  nut  that  is  screwed  on  by  means  of  a  spanner 
wrench. 


PUMP  TROUBLES  21 

This  nut  should  be  deeper  than  the  length  of  the 
gland  so  that  if  the  packing  cannot  be  pushed  entirely 
into  the  stuffing-box  with  the  fingers  only,  the  nut  will 
lap  over  the  gland  and  catch  the  thread,  thus  forcing 
the  packing  evenly  into  place. 

If  the  rod  is  in  good  order,  there  is  no  need  of  using 
much  force  on  either  kind  of  gland  as  a  light  pressure 
should  answer  every  purpose.  If  this  does  not  keep  it 
tight  after  the  packing  has  been  in  use  for  several 
months,  take  it  out  and  put  in  new.  It  does  not  pay 
to  use  packing  until  it  becomes  hard,  as  it  injures  the 
rods  more  than  the  value  of  new  packing.  When 
taking  out  any  of  the  packing,  remove  all  of  it,  even 
though  it  be  difficult  to  get  the  bottom  ring  out. 

We  hear  much  about  pounding  in  steam-engines,  but 
less  about  the  same  trouble  with  pumps,  and  the  vari- 
ous remedies  applied.  A  pump  used  for  raising  cold 
water,  which  had  previously  performed  its  work  very 
quietly,  began  to  pound  in  the  water  cylinder  at  the 
end  of  one  stroke,  annoying  the  occupants  of  a  build- 
ing. Observation  taught  the  engineer  that  the  work 
of  this  pump  had  been  increased,  and  as  more  water 
was  called  for  the  disagreeable  noise  grew  worse. 

He  reasoned  out  the  matter  as  follows.  When  only 
a  small  quantity  of  water  was  wanted,  the  piston  did 
not  travel  full  stroke,  therefore  the  water  cylinder  was 
not  worn  smooth  throughout  its  entire  length.  When 
more  water  was  wanted  the  speed  of  piston  increased 
and  the  extra  momentum  caused  a  longer  stroke; 
therefore  the  piston  traveled  over  the  comparatively 
rough  part  at  the  end  of  cylinder,  which  may  have 


22  PUMPS 

been  a  trifle  smaller  than  the  middle,  causing  the 
piston  to  bind  at  this  point,  hence  the  pound.  Taking 
the  cylinder  head  off,  he  proceeded  to  scrape  the  end 
of  cylinder  smooth,  and  on  starting  the  pump  the  pound 
was  no  longer  heard. 

It  is  a  good  idea  to  put  an  air  chamber  on  the  dis- 
charge pipe  of  a  pump,  especially  if  the  water  comes 
to  it  under  pressure,  but  such  a  chamber  is  often 
worthless,  because  there  is  no  glass  gage  on  it  to 
enable  the  engineer  to  tell  where  the  water  level  is; 
consequently  the  air  space  fills  with  water  and  it  is 
not  observed. 

A  long  glass  is  not  necessary  because  a  short  one 
will  answer  the  purpose  if  set  low,  as  shown  in  Fig.  7. 
If  the  water  level  is  kept  low  enough  to  show  in  this 
glass,  there  will  be  a  good  body  of  air  above  it  to  act 
as  a  cushion  for  the  pump.  When  the  water  level 
rises  too  high,  draw  water  out  of  the  air  chamber  and 
open  the  pet  cock  at  the  top  to  allow  air  to  flow  in. 
It  will  be  necessary  to  draw  the  water  down  out  of 
sight,  because  pressure  compresses  the  air,  forcing  the 
water  level  upward. 

A  duplex  pump  was  used  to  deliver  cold  water 
against  a  heavy  pressure  in  a  mill.  One  of  the  steam- 
pistons  struck  its  cylinder-head  at  the  end  of  each 
inner  stroke,  causing  a  heavy  pound,  the  cause  of  which 
could  not  be  located  until  the  engineer  discovered  a 
break  in  the  cylinder-head  gasket,  as  shown  in  Fig.  8. 
Both  cylinder-heads  were  cast  in  one  piece  and  the 
packing  was  also  in  one  piece  originally,  but  a  small 
part  had  broken  out,  probably  when  the  double  head 


PUMP  TROUBLES 


23 


FIG.    7 


FIG. 


24  PUMPS 

was  removed  for  inspection,  and  a  new  gasket  had  not 
been  put  on,  consequently  the  steam  which  should  have 
cushioned  the  piston  passed  through  the  small  passage 
to  the  other  cylinder,  allowing  the  piston  to  strike  the 
head  solidly.  A  new  gasket  cured  the  trouble. 

A  single  direct-acting  pump  began  to  pound,  and 
the  trouble  increased  as  time  advanced.  The  engineer 
tried  to  remove  the  disagreeable  noise  by  adjusting 
the  valve-gear  in  different  ways,  without  success,  after 
which  he  had  a  new  valve  made  with  about  J-inch 
more  inside  lap,  as  shown  at  2  in  Fig.  9,  and  when  it 
was  put  in  place  and  steam  turned  on  the  pound  was 
no  longer  heard. 

The  insurance  inspectors  came  around  one  day  and 
wished  to  test  the  duplex  fire  pump,  and  of  course  they 
were  accommodated.  It  was  run  quite  fast  during 
the  test,  taking  water  from  a  cistern.  After  the  test 
was  concluded  one  piston  made  a  stroke  much  quicker 
than  formerly,  denoting  a  leaky  water  valve.  The 
water  chest  of  this  pump  contained  forty  valves,  and 
under  the  last  one  to  be  examined  a  stone  about  the 
size  of  a  walnut  was  found.  One  of  the  hot-water 
pumps  showed  the  same  defect,  and  under  the  first 
water  valve  a  piece  of  wood  was  found.  When  these 
were  removed  the  pumps  worked  perfectly. 

A  strainer  that  was  packed  full  of  very  fine  sand 
caused  much  trouble.  It  was  at  the  bottom  of  a 
driven  well,  hence  escaped  detection  for  a  long  time. 

In  another  case  the  supply  of  water  in  an  open  well 
was  not  sufficient;  hence  the  pump  sucked  air  nearly 
every  day,  and  acted  strangely  accordingly. 


FIG.    9 


26  PUMPS 

A  crank  and  fly-wheel  pump  fitted  with  brass  cylin- 
der, piston,  piston-rod  and  valves  complete  could  not 
be  cured  of  the  habit  of  groaning  caused  by  pumping 
very  hot  and  very  cold  water  alternately. 

Another  pump,  used  to  raise  water  out  of  driven 
wells,  could  never  be  made  to  deliver  it  against  pres- 
sure, because  it  contained  a  large  quantity  of  air, 
although  no  leaks  could  be  found  in  the  suction  pipe. 
When  this  water  was  delivered  into  a  cistern,  the  end 
of  the  discharge  pipe  being  below  the  surface,  bubbles 
of  air  constantly  arose  to  the  surface.  After  the  air 
had  escaped  the  water  was  taken  out  of  the  cistern 
and  delivered  against  pressure  without  trouble. 

A  pump  with  no  outside  valve-gear  began  to  be  less 
and  less  reliable,  and  finally  refused  to  work.  Careful 
examination  of  all  the  internal  parts  failed  to  disclose 
a  defect.  As  it  was  a  new  machine,  the  manufacturers 
were  notified.  They  sent  a  man  to  remedy  the  trouble, 
who  brought  another  steam-chest  and  auxiliary  cylin- 
der with  him,  which  he  proceeded  to  substitute  for 
the  defective  parts,  as  it  was  plain  that  steam  reached 
both  sides  of  the  auxiliary  piston,  hence  it  failed  to 
move.  He  also  brought  a  fine,  cup-shaped  strainer, 
which  he  proceeded  to  place  in  the  union  on  the  steam 
pipe. 

When  steam  was  again  turned  on,  the  pump  resumed 
operations  promptly,  and  has  worked  well  ever  since. 
It  is  necessary  to  clean  this  strainer  about  once  a 
month,  as  sediment  collects  in  it,  until  enough  steam 
to  run  the  pump  full  speed  cannot  pass  through  it. 
The  sediment  is  sharp  and  gritty,  and  is  nearly  equal 


PUMP  TROUBLES  27 

to  emery  for  cutting  purposes.  The  strainer  is  made 
cup-shaped  in  order  to  provide  sufficient  opening 
through  it  to  equal  the  area  of  the  steam-pipe.  There 
is  no  mystery  about  the  presence  of  this  sediment 
while  the  pipes  were  new;  but  why  should  it  continue 
to  collect  at  this  point? 

One  engineer  reports  that  he  removed  a  similar 
strainer  when  he  found  that  sediment  collected  in  it 
and  prevented  the  free  passage  of  steam;  but  this 
was  evidently  a  mistake,  because  it  is  much  better  to 
clean  the  strainer  once  a  month  than  to  allow  the 
destructive  sediment  to  pass  into  the  steam-chest  and 
cylinder. 


IV 

PUMP  TROUBLES 

A  SINGLE-CYLINDER  boiler  feed-pump  after  being  re- 
paired was  run  for  a  few  months,  when  it  was  noticed 
that  the  steam  piston  would  not  make  a  full  stroke, 
but  stopped  about  two  inches  from  the  cylinder-head. 
When  the  drain-cock  was  opened  the  piston  would 
finish  the  stroke.  When  the  cock  was  closed,  after  a 
few  strokes  the  same  old  trouble  appeared.  Every- 
thing was  in  good  condition  at  the  water  end,  and  the 
steam  piston  did  not  leak. 

When  the  pump  was  taken  apart  everything  was 
found  O.  K.,  except  at  the  back  end  of  the  steam 
cylinder  there  was  some  gummy  substance  between 
the  piston  and  the  head.  The  cylinder  oil,  which  was 
of  a  very  heavy  grade,  was  responsible  for  the  gummy 
substance,  mixing  with  the  water.  This  matter  could 
not  work  out  of  the  cylinder,  except  by  way  of  the 
drain-cock.  When  the  cock  was  closed,  of  course  it 
kept  the  piston  from  finishing  the  stroke.  The  piston 
and  cylinder  were  cleaned,  a  lighter  oil  was  used  and 
there  was  no  more  trouble. 

This  same  pump  used  to  give  trouble  by  slacking 
up  or  nearly  stopping  when  within  3  inches  of  the 
end  of  the  stroke,  at  each  end.  After  a  thorough  in- 

28 


PUMP  TROUBLES  29 

spection  it  was  found  that  the  water  cylinder  was  not 
in  line  with  the  steam  cylinder,  and  this  caused  the 
piston  to  bear  downward  at  one  end  of  the  stroke  and 
upward  at  the  other  end.  The  bad  alignment  had  been 
caused  by  leaving  a  piece  of  old  gasket  on  the  cylinder 
face  of  the  water  cylinder  and  the  frame  when  the  old 
one  had  been  replaced  with  new.  The  cylinder  face 
was  cleaned  thoroughly  and  the  parts  put  together 
again  and  the  pump  ran  all  right. 

Another  pump  refused  to  furnish  water  enough  for 
the  boiler.  Upon  examination,  it  was  seen  that  the 
valves  at  the  water  end  were  worn  out.  New  valves 
were  substituted,  but  the  pump  did  no  better  then. 
The  water-piston  was  packed  but  to  no  avail.  At  last 
it  was  found  that  there  was  scale  around  the  valve- 
studs  and  seats,  and,  the  holes  in  the  new  valves  that 
had  been  put  in  being  smaller  than  those  in  the  old 
valves,  the  valves  did  not  properly  seat.  The  scale 
was  removed  and  plenty  of  water  came  after  that. 

In  a  good  sized  station  a  pump  was  found  with 
nothing  but  an  ordinary  oil  cup  placed  on  the  steam 
chest.  The  pump  ran  unsteadily  and  groaned  at 
every  stroke.  Fig.  10  shows  a  lubricator  as  it  was 
fixed  up  and  put  on  the  pump.  There  is  a  union  at  A, 
and  another  union  can  be  placed  between  the  steam- 
chest  and  lubricator,  but  was  not  required  in  this  case. 

The  crack  £  was  caused  by  water  freezing  in  the  steam 
cylinder  of  the  pump.  It  was  patched,  as  shown  in  Fig. 
1 1 ,  and  then  a  composition  cylinder  belonging  to  the 
water  end  of  another  pump  was  used  and  fitted  to  the 
inside  of  the  cracked  cylinder.  The  piston  was  then 


PUMPS 


turned  down  and  new  rings  fitted  to  it.     At  present  the 
pump  is  giving  good  service. 


FIG.    10 


Once  the  pump  man  let  the  water  get  below  the  suc- 
tion of  the  pump,  with  the  consequence  that  the  front 


PUMP  TROUBLES 


31 


head  was  cracked  as  at  C,  Fig.  10.    A  clamp  shown  in 
Fig.  12  placed  around  the  cylinder  proved  effective. 
Figure  13  shows  an  old  wrinkle,  but  it  may  be  new 


ooooooooo 
ooooooooo 


FIG.    II 


to  some.  A  and  B  are  check-valves  closed  by  the 
atmospheric  pressure;  C  is  an  ordinary  globe  valve. 
When  starting  the  pump,  air  becomes  trapped  between 


ctf 


FIG.    12 


the  delivery  valve  deck  and  the  suction  valves,  break- 
ing the  vacuum  by  expanding  and  contracting  in  the 
suction  pipe.  By  opening  the  valve  C  the  air  is  dis- 


32 


PUMPS 


charged  when  starting.  As  soon  as  water  comes  from 
the  valve  C,  close  it  and  the  pump  will  be  working 
properly. 

In  an  isolated  plant  was  found  a  water  supply  pump 
just  out  of  a  repair  shop  giving  trouble.     On  examina- 


FIG.    13 

tion,  it  was  found  that  the  auxiliary  valve  had  not 
been  repaired  and  was  leaking  badly  (Cameron  pump), 
which  prevented  its  working.  The  engineer  was  told 
what  was  the  matter  and  that  it  would  be  necessary  to 
take  the  steam-chest  back  to  the  shop  and  bore  it  and 
make  a  new  valve.  Then  as  his  tank  was  empty  and  he 
needed  water  if  possible  to  get  it,  the  following  plan 


PUMP  TROUBLES  33 

was  executed.  Taking  the  two  heads  off  the  steam- 
chest,  the  steam  was  turned  on,  noting  the  amount 
that  leaked  through  each  end;  then,  after  removing 


FIG.    14 


the  gaskets,  putting  the  heads  back  and  screwing  the 
bolts  just  tight  enough  to  allow  the  same  amount  of 
steam  to  escape,  as  in  Fig.  14,  the  pump  immediately 
went  to  work. 


SOME   PUMP  REPAIRS 

A  CARELESS  engineer  had  started  an  upright  plunger 
pump  in  an  ice  plant  with  the  valves  on  the  delivery 
line  closed,  breaking  the  six-foot  cast-iron  cylinder 
into  three  pieces  as  shown  by  the  cracks  A-B  and 
C-D  in  Fig.  15.  As  the  ice  plant  depended  upon  this 
pump  for  its  water,  waiting  for  a  new  casting  from  the 
factory,  or  the  possible  longer  wait  of  having  a  pattern 
and  casting  made  in  one  of  the  local  foundries,  was 
out  of  the  question.  The  warmer  city  water  could 
have  been  easily  turned  in,  but  every  one  experienced 
in  ice  making  and  refrigeration  knows  what  a  differ- 
ence of  about  20  degrees  in  the  water  supply  would 
mean  when  a  plant  is  pushed  constantly  to  its  utmost 
limit.  It  would  either  cut  off  the  greater  part  of  their 
ice  output,  or  raise  the  temperature  in  the  cold  storage 
when  it  was  already  so  high  as  to  be  risky.  So  the 
engineer  was  called  on  to  do  something. 

Two  clamps  E  were  fitted  around  the  cylinder  and 
four  strips  F  fastened  the  upper  pieces  to  the  lower. 
Then  small  holes  G  were  drilled  at  intervals  all  over 
the  cylinder,  the  outer  parts  of  the  holes  being  counter- 
sunk. Then  the  outside  of  the  cylinder  was  wrapped 
with  paper  and  packed  around  with  damp  sand  in  a 
board  casing.  A  wooden  core  an  inch  smaller  than 

34 


SOME  PUMP   REPAIRS 


35 


the  former  bore  of  the  pump  was  centered  on  the 
inside  of  the  cylinder  and  red-hot  babbitt  poured  in. 
It  was  expected  that  it  would  be  a  difficult  job  to  get 
a  perfect  cast,  but  the  first  attempt  proved  to  be  a 


FIG.    15 

complete  success.  It  was  a  simple  job  to  bore  this 
out  a  little  and  turn  the  piston  down  to  fit  it.  A  few 
burrs  of  babbitt  were  cut  from  the  outside  and  the 
job  was  then  neat  and  strong,  and  the  pump  gave  better 
service  than  it  had  given  for  years. 


36  PUMPS 

REPAIRING  A  PUMP 

Having  occasion  for  the  use  of  another  pump,  the 
management  decided  to  buy  a  new  one.  Most  engi- 
neers would  have  been  very  willing  to  have  the  com- 
pany go  to  this  expense,  but  this  firm  happened  to 
have  in  their  employ  one  of  those  careful,  saving  engi- 
neers that  are  rarely  found.  This  engineer  found  in 
the  company's  pile  of  junk  a  pump  that  had  evidently 
been  discarded  on  account  of  a  crack  about  3  inches 
long  in  the  water  cylinder. 

Some  one  had  tried  calking,  but  had  only  opened 
the  crack  worse.  Somebody,  probably  the  same  per- 
son, had  also  made  a  sort  of  pocket  of  clay  and  at- 
tempted the  repair  by  pouring  in  melted  babbitt,  but 
the  shrinking  of  the  metal  when  cooling  had  been 
enough  to  spoil  the  job. 

As  the  shape  of  the  casting  made  patching  a  very 
difficult  undertaking,  the  engineer  decided  to  try 
another  way.  After  some  difficulty  he  succeeded  in 
removing  the  babbitt.  He  then  ground  a  piece  of 
sheet  copper  very  thin  at  one  end  and  forced  it  into 
the  crack.  The  edge  of  the  copper  was  then  filed  off 
even  with  the  cast  iron,  and  a  clamp  made  of  heavy 
iron  was  placed  around  the  cylinder  and  drawn  up  by 
the  bolt  provided  for  that  purpose.  The  crack  was 
perfectly  tight  and  held  for  about  eight  years. 

Not  long  ago  this  crack  again  began  to  leak  and  no 
amount  of  tightening  on  the  clamp  would  stop  it. 
Another  engineer  had  taken  the  place  of  the  one  who 
had  made  the  repair.  The  new  man  removed  the 


SOME   PUMP   REPAIRS 


37 


piece  of  copper  and  prepared  another  like  the  first  had 
been.  But  after  drawing  up  with  the  clamp,  the 
crack  still  leaked,  when  pumping  against  more  than 
80  pounds  pressure.  As  the  crack  was  nearly  in  a 
straight  line,  the  new  engineer  than  decided  to  try 
another  method.  A  TVinch  hole  was  drilled  along 
the  crack  about  \  of  an  inch.  Then  a  J-inch  copper 
wire  about  3?  inches  long  was  tapered  about  a  thirty- 
second  of  an  inch  and  driven  into  the  hole.  When  the 
clamp  was  again  tightened,  the  crack  was  water-tight 
against  any  pressure,  and  it  looks  now  as  though  it 
would  hold  as  long  as  the  pump  would  last. 

After  five  years'  use  a  set  of  1 50  valve  disks  needed 
facing.  They  were  made  of  hard  composition  and 
had  been  turned  over  once,  so  that  they  were  much 
worn  and  had  ridges  in  them  from  ^¥  to  TV  inch 
deep.  A  1 6-inch  bastard  file  was  first  used  and  it  was 
found  after  cutting  three  or  four,  that  the  teeth  of  the 
file  were  rapidly  wearing  off.  The  file  was  machine 
cut,  and  a  hand-cut  file  was  procured,  but  had  the  same 
experience  with  it.  Finally  the  tool  shown  in  the 
accompanying  sketch  was  made  and  found  to  work 
extremely  well. 

A  piece  of  scrap  cast  iron  was  put  in  the  shaper. 
With  a  screw-cutting  tool  the  grooves  shown  were  cut 
and  filled  with  emery.  Extreme  care  must  be  used 
to  keep  the  edges  of  the  grooves  exactly  even  with  the 
top  surface  of  the  block.  A  hole  was  drilled  in  the 
bottom  of  the  block  and  screwed  in  a  screw-eye,  so  that 
the  block  could  be  held  in  a  vise.  With  this  arrange- 
ment both  sides  of  a  valve  could  be  trued  up  in  one 


38  PUMPS 

minute.  The  tool,  Fig.  16,  lasted  for  the  truing  of 
both  sides  of  a  full  set  of  valves,  and  is  still  good  for  a 
dozen  more  sets. 

The  emery  will  get  filled  up  with  the  granulated 
rubber  which  is  ground  off,  but  the  emery  can  be  saved 
by  heating  a  piece  of  iron  red  hot  and  putting  the 
emery  and  rubber  on  it.  The  rubber  will  soon  burn 
up  and  leave  the  emery  as  good  as  ever. 


FIG.    l6 

A  duplex  pump  failed  to  force  water  and  an  examina- 
tion showed  that  the  valve-seats  were  badly  scored. 
These  seats  were  expanded  into  the  pump  and  beaded 
over  so  they  could  not  be  removed,  and  to  grind  them 
in  place  was  the  problem  we  had  to  solve. 

A  ii-inch  coupling  was  taken,  as  shown  at  //Fig.  17, 
and  filled  with  babbitt  and  then  drilled  out  for  a 
f-inch  bolt  B.  This  bolt  was  threaded  nearly  the  full 
length.  Four  small  bolts  were  driven  into  holes 
drilled  in  the  lower  end  of  the  coupling  as  shown  at 
M.  A  bar  of  iron  f  x  i  inch  was  shaped  as  shown  in 


SOME   PUMP   REPAIRS 


39 


Fig.  1 8,  bent  as  in  Fig.  19  and  placed  at  W,  Fig.  17. 
The  nut,  Fig.  20,  was  made  from  J-inch  iron  and  shaped 
to  enter  the  holes  N  N  drilled  in  the  bar,  Fig.  18. 
This  is  shown  in  place  in  Fig.  19  and  at  C  in  Fig.  17. 
The  nut  was  drilled  and  tapped  out  for  a  f-inch  bolt 
y,  Fig.  19,  the  outer  end  fastened  to  form  a  handle  as 


FIG.    19 


FIG.    17 


FIG.    1 8 

at  R,  Fig.  17.  Small  holes  f  of  an  inch  in  diameter 
were  drilled  in  the  side,  forming  a  circle  around  the 
coupling.  They  were  spaced  f  inch  apart  and  are 
shown  in  the  collar  W,  Fig.  17.  An  old  metal  valve 
was  taken  and  ground  good  and  level  on  the  face. 
Cavities  were  sawed  and  chipped  out  to  allow  the  four 


40  PUMPS 

pins  at  M,  Fig.  17,  to  drop  into  them,  and  by  making 
this  connection  the  body  J  could  not  turn  without 
turning  the  valve.  The  lower  end  of  the  bolt  B  was 
screwed  into  the  hole  at  the  center  of  the  valve- 
seat  where  the  stud  holds  the  valve  in  place  under 
working  conditions.  A  good  coat  of  lard  oil  and  ground 
emery  was  placed  between  the  valve  and  the  seat  to  be 
ground,  and  the  lower  end  of  the  body  /  was  set  up 
snug  enough  against  the  valve  to  allow  the  coupling 
to  turn  and  bring  a  force  on  the  top  of  the  valve.  The 
strap  W  was  turned  until  the  taper  end  of  the  bolt  C 
came  in  line  with  a  hole  in  the  body  /  at  W ,  when  the 
f-inch  bolt  was  turned  in  at  the  handle  R  and  this 
made  it  fast  to  the  coupling.  The  bolt  B  was  screwed 
into  the  seat  tightly  so  that  it  could  not  turn.  The 
handle  N  was  wound  back  and  ahead,  which  moved  the 
body  J  and  with  it  the  valve.  To  change  the  position 
of  the  valve,  the  bolt  C  was  backed  out  and  screwed  into 
another  hole  to  put  on  more  energy.  The  nut  /  was 
backed  off,  the  coupling  raised  and  the  seat  examined. 
It  will  be  seen  that  by  backing  out  the  bolt  C  and  put- 
ting it  into  other  holes  in  the  body  /  a  full  revolution 
can  be  made.  The  job  was  done  and  well  done  too,  for 
the  old  pump  throws  water  good  and  fast.  Fig.  17 
shows  the  tool  in  place ;  the  valve  chamber  being  an  ex- 
tension of  the  water  cylinder.  To  grind  the  suction- 
valve  seats  the  head  was  taken  off,  but  the  discharge 
seats  were  ground  through  a  hand-hole  12x7  inches  lo- 
cated as  shown  in  Fig.  17.  It  is  well  to  mention  that 
the  strap  W  is  free  to  move  up  or  down  or  turn  around 
the  body  /  when  the  bolt  C  is  not  in  one  of  the  holes  W. 


SOME  PUMP   REPAIRS 


Sometimes  the  thread  on  the  inside  of  a  stuffing- 
box  gland  becomes  so  burred  or  broken  that  it  can  not 
be  started  back  on  the  box  thread,  and  it  means  the 
taking  apart  of  the  pumps  to  get  the  necessary  repair 
made  unless  some  method  of  doing  the  work  in  place 


FIG.    21 


can  be  devised.  The  following  method  is  a  good  one. 
Referring  to  Fig.  21.  Move  the  nut  with  injured 
thread  out  along  the  rod  away  from  the  stuffing-box 
far  enough  to  get  at  the  thread. 

Fill  the  spaces  into  which  the  spanner  fits  with  fire 


42  PUMPS 

clay  and  after  packing  around  the  rod  to  hold  the  nut 
central,  pour  babbitt  between  the  nut  and  frame  as 
shown  in  figure.  Then  make  a  tool  such  as  shown  in 
cut  with  a  V-shaped  point  to  fit  the  thread.  Then 
clean  out  the  fire  clay  from  the  spanner  spaces,  and 
using  the  spanner  to  turn  the  nut  apply  the  tool  as 
shown  and  clean  out  the  thread.  After  the  thread 
is  clear  the  babbitt  can  be  cleared  out  of  the  way  and 
the  nut  screwed  up  in  place. 


VI 

• 

SETTING  VALVES  OF  DUPLEX   PUMP1 

As  is  well  known,  the  slide  valves  of  a  duplex  pump 
have  neither  outside  nor  inside  lap.  This  is  necessary 
to  prevent  the  pump  from  stopping  should  the  valves 
be  in  a  position  to  cover  all  ports.  By  making  the 
length  of  the  valve  the  exact  distance  from  the  outside 
edge  to  the  outside  edge  of  the  steam  port,  and  the 
exhaust  cavity  the  exact  distance  from  the  inside  edge 
to  the  inside  edge  of  the  exhaust  port,  there  is  only 
one  point  in  the  travel  of  the  valve  where  ports  are 
completely  closed;  and  it  is  not  likely,  if  it  ever  should 
happen  that  both  valves  were  in  this  position,  that  the 
pump  would  fail  to  start  off,  for  the  leakage  of  steam 
past  the  edges  of  the  valves  will  never  be  exactly  the 
same  in  all  four  corners,  therefore  the  equilibrium 
would  be  destroyed  quickly. 

By  setting  the  outside  edges  of  the  valves  "line  on 
line"  with  the  outside  edges  of  the  steam  ports,  the 
valves  will  stand  in  a  central  position.  If,  then,  both 
rocker  arms  are  put  in  a  central  or  vertical  position, 
the  clearance  on  the  valve  rod  must  be  the  same  on 
both  ends.  In  Fig.  22  this  clearance  is  shown  inside 
of  the  steam-chest  and  is  marked  C.  On  larger  pumps 

1  Contributed  to  Power  by  F.  F.  Nickel. 
43 


44 


PUMPS 


FIG.    22 


SETTING  VALVES   OF  DUPLEX  PUMP  45 


FIG.    23 


46  PUMPS 

usually,  a  lost-motion  link  is  inserted  between  the 
crank  and  the  valve-rod  clevis,  which  can  be  adjusted 
without  taking  off  the  steam-chest  cover.  No  fixed 
rule  can  be  given  for  the  amount  of  this  clearance,  as 
it  must  be  adjusted  to  suit  the  working  of  the  pump. 
On  a  pump  of  ordinary  proportion,  such  as  a  boiler 
feed  pump,  the  total  clearance,  2  C,  should  equal 
about  25  per  cent,  of  the  travel  T  of  the  crank-pin  at 
nominal  stroke.  On  a  low-service  pump  (also  on  a 
pressure  pump  for  moderate  pressure)  it  is  often  found 
that  the  reciprocating  parts  are  so  heavy  that  the 
cushion,  with  the  cushion  valve  shut  tight,  is  not 
sufficient  to  stop  the  motion  of  the  piston  at  the  end 
of  the  stroke.  In  this  case  the  lost  motion  should  all 
be  taken  up.  If  the  piston  does  not  make  a  full  stroke, 
the  lost  motion  may  be  increased  somewhat  above 
the  figure  given,  but  it  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  this 
will  reduce  the  travel  of  the  valve  and  the  port  open- 
ing, and  thus  may  affect  the  speed  of  the  pump. 

THE  CROSS-EXHAUST  VALVE 

In  the  case  of  a  compound  pump  there  is  still  another 
appliance  that  can  be  brought  into  action  to  regulate 
the  length  of  the  stroke,  and  that  is  a  connection, 
provided  with  a  valve,  between  the  two  high-pressure 
exhaust  pipes.  The  object  of  this  connection  is  to 
equalize  the  pressure  in  these  exhaust  pipes  and  make 
it  more  uniform.  This  is  called  the  cross  exhaust, 
and  its  influence  on  the  distribution  of  steam  is  clearly 
shown  by  Figs.  24  to  27  inclusive.  Figs.  24  to  27, 
inclusive,  are  convenient  sectional  plans  of  the  steam 


SETTING  VALVES   OF   DUPLEX  PUMP 


47 


cylinders  of  a  compound  pump,  with  the  pistons  in 
positions  that  correspond  to  lines  A  B  and  B  —  C  in 
the  diagram  Fig.  29.  Fig.  28  represents  a  diagram 
with  the  cross  exhaust  closed.  The  steam  pressure 
follows  up  the  full  stroke  in  the  high-pressure  cylinder, 


Left  Hand  Side 


Bight  Hand  Si4e 


FIG.    24 

and  when  the  exhaust  valve  opens  it  blows  into  the 
intermediate  space  and  mixes  with  the  steam  left 
therein  from  the  preceding  stroke. 

Assuming  the  intermediate  space  to  have  a  volume 
equal  to  0.75  of  that  of  the  high-pressure  cylinder  and 
a  cylinder  ratio  of  i  to  3,  we  have  the  following  vol- 
umes: 


PUMPS 


High-pressure  cylinder  =  i ;  intermediate  space  = 
0.75;  low-pressure  cylinder  =  3. 

Clearances  are  neglected,  as  it  is  only  intended  to 
show  the  action  of  the  cross  exhaust.  We  will  also 


Left  Hand  Side 


.75  Volume 


40  Lb. 


1 

1 
3 

Steam  Valve 
about  to  open. 


Right  Hand  Side 


FIG.    25 

assume  that  the  steam  expands  according  to  Mariotte's 

law. 

pXv  =  constant, 

which  is  sufficiently  accurate  for  our  purpose,  and 
assists  greatly  in  getting  a  clear  conception  of  the 
behavior  of  the  steam  as  it  passes  through  the  various 
stages. 

The  amount  of  steam  passing  through  one  side  of 
the  engine  is  evidently  one  high-pressure  cylinder  full 


SETTING  VALVES  OF  DUPLEX  PUMP 


49 


at  initial  pressure.  Its  measure  is  pXv  =  120X1  = 
120  Ibs.  When  the  high-pressure  exhaust  valve  opens, 
this  steam  flows  into  the  intermediate  space,  where  it 
meets  and  mixes  with  steam  that  was  left  there  from 
the  preceding  stroke.  This  steam  was  shut  off  from 


FIG.    26 

its  communication  with  the  steam  in  the  low-pressure 
cylinder,  when  its  exhaust  valve  opened  and  must  be 
at  the  same  pressure  as  the  steam  in  the  low-pressure 
cylinder  at  the  point  of  exhaust.  As  the  ratio  of 
cylinders  was  assumed  to  be  as  i  to  3,  the  steam  ex- 
pands three  times  as  it  passes  from  the  high-pressure 
cylinder  to  the  low-pressure  cylinder,  and  the  terminal 
pressure  is  therefore 


50  PUMPS 

120 

- —  =  40  Ibs. 

It  will  be  noted  that  120  is  a  measure  for  the  steam 
passing  through  the  engine  and  this  amount  is 
accounted  for  by  the  indicator  diagram  at  every  point 
of  the  stroke.  Thus  we  have: 

High-pressure  cylinder,  pXv=  I2OX  i  =  120. 

Low-pressure  cylinder,  pXv  =  40X3  =  120. 


FIG.    27 

The  amount  of  steam  that  is  constant  and  remains 
in  the  intermediate  space  is  0.75  X  40  =  30  Ibs.;  the 
two  combined  give  120  +  30  =  150  Ibs.,  which  when 
distributed  over  a  volume  of  i  +  0.75  =  1.75  results 
in  a  pressure  of 


SETTING  VALVES  OF  DUPLEX  PUMP      51 

1^  =  85  Ibs. 
'•75 

This  means  that  when  the  high-pressure  exhaust 
valve  opens  the  steam  expands  from  the  high-pressure 
cylinder  into  the  intermediate  space  from  120  to  85 
Ibs.  without  doing  any  useful  work.  From  85  Ibs.  it 
then  expands  from  the  high-pressure  cylinder  through 
the  intermediate  space  into  the  low-pressure  cylinder 
doing  useful  work  upon  the  low-pressure  piston. 


40 


.1 

I 

I  H.P. 

I 

I 

I 
I 
I 


L.P. 

I 
I 


56.6 


FIG.    28 

With  two  points  of  the  expansion  curve,  namely, 
85  Ibs.  at  the  beginning  and  40  Ibs.  at  the  end  of  the 
stroke,  it  is  now  easy  to  construct  the  remainder  of  the 
curve,  as  it  is  only  necessary  to  complete  the  rectangle 
and  draw  the  diagonal.  Where  this  diagonal  meets  the 
line  of  zero  pressure,  there  is  point  o,  the  zero  point  of 
pressure  and  volume.  Any  line  drawn  through  this 
point  o  will  give  the  volume  on  the  line  85,  Fig.  28, 
and  its  corresponding  pressure  on  line  A,  Fig.  29. 


52  PUMPS 

Under  the  conditions  indicated  in  Fig.  28,  it  cannot 
be  expected  that  an  ordinary  pump  will  work  satis- 
factorily, as  the  following  comparison  of  the  steam 
forces  will  show. 

Beginning  of  stroke: 

H.  P.,  120  -  85  =  35 

L.  P.,  85  -  6  =  79  X  3  =  237 


Total  steam  force 272  Ibs. 

End  of  stroke : 

H.  P.,  120  -  40  =  80 

L.  P.,  40  -  6  =  34  X  3  =  102 
Total  steam  force   182  Ibs. 

The  average  of  the  two,  or 

272  +    l82 

-* -  =  227  Ibs., 

is  a  measure  of  the  resistance  which,  in  a  pump,  is 
constant  throughout  the  stroke.  There  is,  therefore, 
at  the  beginning  of  the  stroke,  a  surplus  of  272  —  227 
=  45  Ibs.,  and  at  the  end  a  deficiency  of  227  —  182  = 
45  Ibs.  If,  however,  the  cross  exhaust  is  opened,  it 
equalizes  these  two  forces  to  a  certain  extent  and 
modifies  the  diagram,  as  shown  in  Fig.  29. 

With  the  assistance  of  Figs.  24  to  27,  inclusive,  it  is 
easy  to  follow  the  steam  through  its  various  stages. 
In  Fig.  24  the  pistons  of  the  right-hand  side  have  com- 
pleted the  stroke  and  are  about  to  return.  The  cylin- 
ders on  the  other  side  and  intermediate  spaces  are 


SETTING   VALVES   OF   DUPLEX   PUMP 


S3 


filled  with  steam  at  the  low-pressure  terminal,  or  40 
Ibs.  The  total  amount  of  steam  is  then 

120  X      i  =  120 

40    X  3.9  =  156 

Total    276 

which  divided  by  the  volume,  4.9,  gives  a  resulting 

pressure  of 

276         ,     ., 
-!—  =  56.5  Ibs., 
49 

as  shown  in  Fig.  25.  This  increased  pressure  gives 
the  low-pressure  piston  of  the  left-hand  side  an  addi- 
tional push  and  enables  it  to  complete  its  stroke  while 


FIG.    29 

the  steam  expands  down  to  40  Ibs.  again.  Then  the 
steam  from  the  left-hand  high-pressure  cylinder  flows 
into  the  intermediate  space  and  raises  the  pressure  to 
56.5  Ibs.,  in  order  to  help  out  the  right-hand  low- 
pressure  piston. 

Fig.  29  shows  this  action  clearly,  but  in  practice 


54  PUMPS 

the  rise  in  pressure  will  not  be  as  abrupt  as  shown 
there,  as  the  pulsations  in  the  pipes  will  still  more 
equalize  the  differences  and  produce  a  practically 
uniform  pressure  in  the  intermediate  space. 

It  will  also  be  noted  that  by  opening  the  cross  ex- 
haust, pressure  is  removed  from  the  low-pressure  piston 
and  shifted  over  to  the  high-pressure  piston  which 
results  in  a  loss  of  power  and  reduced  speed  of  the 
pump. 

The  cross  exhaust  should  therefore  be  kept  closed 
whenever  the  pump  runs  fairly  well  in  this  condition. 


VII 

ANOTHER    METHOD    OF    SETTING 
PUMP  VALVES 


DUPLEX 


IN  setting  the  valves  of  a  duplex  pump,  first  remove 
the  steam-chest  cover;  next  move  the  piston-rod 
toward  the  steam-cylinder  head  until  the  steam-piston 
strikes  the  head  solid,  and  make  a  pencil  mark  on  the 
rod  at  the  face  of  the  steam  stuffing-box,  as  shown  in 
Fig.  30  at  A.  Now  move  the  piston  to  the  opposite 


;  FIG.   30 

end  until  the  steam-piston  strikes  solid,  and  make 
another  scriber  mark  exactly  half-way  between  the 
first  mark  and  the  face  of  the  steam  stuffing-box,  as 
shown  in  Fig.  31  at  B.  Then  move  the  piston-rod 
back  until  this  second  mark  comes  flush  with  the  face 
of  the  steam  stuffing-box,  and  now  the  piston  will  be 
at  mid-stroke,  as  shown  in  Fig.  32.  Now  take  off  the 
steam-chest  cover,  and  place  the  slide  valve  exactly 

55 


PUMPS 


in  the  center  or  over  the  steam  ports,  and  set  the  slide- 
valve  nut  exactly  in  the  center  between  the  lugs  on 
the  valve,  as  shown  in  Fig.  33.  Screw  the  valve-stem 


c, 

i  IvrLa                       B              A 

1                !'            '.'  A 

E 

fit^i  —  » 

FIG.    31 


through  the  nut  until  the  eye  of  the  knuckle  joint  is  in 
line  with  the  eye  of  the  link,  then  slip  the  link  into 
place.  Now  we  have  the  valve  set  on  one  side,  and 


after  repeating  this  process  on  the  other  side  of  the 
pump,  the  valve  setting  will  be  completed. 

Some  pumps  are  provided  with  two  nuts  on  the  valve- 


ANOTHER  METHOD   OF  VALVE  SETTING 


57 


stem  on  each  side  of  the  valve  lugs,  instead  of  one  nut 
between  the  lugs,  as  shown  in  Fig.  34.     These  are  set 


Nut 


FIG.  33 

and  locked  from  the  outer  faces  of  the  valve  lugs, 
allowing  a  little  lost  motion  on  each  side  of  the  lugs. 
Some  make  this  lost  motion  equal  to  half  the  width  of 


FIG.  34 


the  steam  ports,  but  sometimes  this  gives  the  pump  too 
much  or  too  little  stroke,  and  must  be  changed  accord- 
ingly. 


VIII 


A  CENTRIFUGAL  PUMP  TROUBLE 

THE  equipment  of  a  centrifugal  pumping  plant  con- 
sisted of  a  10x30  Corliss  engine  and  a  lo-inch  pump 
with  boilers  and  accessories,  which  outfit  was  to  throw 
4500  gallons  per  minute  to  a  hight  of  50  feet,  12  feet  of 
which  was  suction  lift. 


FIG.  35 

The  pump  was  speeded  so  high  that  the  stuffing- 
box  could  not  be  kept  tight  and  cool  at  the  same  time. 
The  speed  could  not  be  reduced,  and  the  packing 
burnt  out  repeatedly.  Water  and  oil  applied  in  the 
ordinary  manner  failed  to  overcome  the  trouble. 

58 


A  CENTRIFUGAL  PUMP  TROUBLE       59 

After  several  days  of  delay,  the  gland  was  taken  off 
and  a  false  bottom  inserted  on  the  air  side  of  the  pack- 
ing, leaving  a  chamber  about  f  of  an  inch  deep.  This 
chamber  was  tapped  for  a  J-inch  pipe,  a  valve  was  put 
on  at  the  gland  and  the  pipe  connected  into  the  main 
discharge  of  the  pump.  This  practically  made^a  water- 
packed  pump;  the  packing  was  left  loose  and  the  pump 
forced  to  take  water  instead  of  air.  We  had  no 
more  trouble  with  the  gland  and  the  packing  lasted 
almost  indefinitely. 

The  change  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  35. 


IX 

BOILER  FEED-PUMPS1 

IN  selecting  a  feed-pump  two  factors  enter  into 
consideration,  namely,  capacity  and  speed.  By  ca- 
pacity is  meant  the  average  quantity  of  water  that 
the  boiler  which  the  feed-pump  is  to  supply  is  capable 
of  evaporating  in  a  certain  time,  and  it  is  clear  that  the 
feed-pump  selected  should  be  large  enough  to  supply 
the  maximum  quantity  of  water  that  can  be  evaporated 
in  the  boiler.  At  the  Centennial  Exhibition  a  stand- 
ard of  30  pounds  per  horse-power  per  hour  was  adopted 
and  while  this  is  a  safe  figure  to  use  when  calculating 
the  size  of  boiler  required  for  a  steam-engine,  it  is  too 
low  to  be  considered  as  a  basis  for  selecting  feed- 
pumps, as  the  hereinafter  considerations  will  show. 

It  is  general  practice  among  builders  to  furnish 
about  12  square  feet  of  heating  surface  per  horse- 
power, and  it  has  been  found  that  but  little  decrease 
of  economy  will  take  place  if  the  boiler  is  forced  to 
evaporate  4  pounds  per  hour  per  square  foot  of  heating 
surface,  instead  of  the  2j  pounds  called  for  by  the  Cen- 
tennial standard. 

The  A.S.M.E.  committee  on  "Trial  of  Steam  Boil- 
ers," in  1884  reported  as  its  opinion  that  a  boiler 

1  Contributed  to  Power  by  F.  F.  Nickel. 
60 


BOILER   FEED-PUMPS  6 1 

should  be  capable  of  developing  its  rated  horse-power 
with  easy  firing,  moderate  draft  and  ordinary  fuel, 
and  further  that  it  should  be  capable  of  delivering  at 
least  one-third  more  than  its  rated  power  to  meet 
emergencies. 

These  considerations  led  to  the  adoption  of  45 
pounds  per  horse-power  per  hour  as  the  quantity  for 
which  a  boiler  feed-pump  should  be  calculated.  This 
quantity  must  be  delivered  to  the  boiler  at  moderate 
speed,  so  that  in  case  of  low-water  level  in  the  boiler 
the  pump  can  be  speeded  and  the  deficiency  made  up 
promptly.  It  is  therefore  good  practice  to  reduce  the 
speed  of  the  boiler  feed-pump  to  one-half  of  what  the 
pump  would  be  rated  at  for  regular  service. 

The  accompanying  table  gives  average  sizes  of  feed- 
pumps as  furnished  by  the  various  builders,  together 
with  the  proper  speed,  capacity  and  horse-power  of 
the  boilers  they  are  intended  to  supply. 


62 


PUMPS 


BOILER  FEED-PUMPS 


Size 

Gallons  per 
Revolution 

Strokes  per 
Minute 

|J 

Gallons  per 
Minute. 

fl 

£ 

^     J_i     Ctf    -•-» 

g    &)          rt 

^1* 

3X2X3 

0.155 

80 

20 

6.2 

3,100 

70 

3i  X     2\  X    4 

0.265 

76 

25 

10 

5,000 

no 

4*  X     2f  X    4 

0-395 

76 

25 

15 

7,500 

170 

Si  X    3i  X     5 

0.805 

7o 

29 

28 

14,000 

310 

6X4X6 

1.265 

66 

33 

42 

21,000 

47° 

7*  X    4i  X    6 

1.6 

66 

33 

53 

25,15° 

560 

7i  X    4!  X    8 

2.15 

60 

40 

65 

32,500 

720 

7i  X    4!  X  10 

2.66 

54 

45 

72 

36,000 

800 

8    X     5    X  10 

3-25 

54 

45 

88 

44,000 

IOOO 

9    X     Si  X  10 

3-6 

54 

45 

97 

48,500 

1  100 

10    X    6    X  10 

4-75 

54 

45 

128 

64,000 

1400 

12    X     7    X  10 

6-45 

54 

45 

i74 

87,000 

1900 

12    X    7    X  12 

7-75 

48 

48 

1  86 

93,000 

2100 

14    X    8£  X  10 

9-55 

54 

45 

258 

129,000 

290O 

14    X    8J  X  12 

n-5 

48 

48 

276 

138,000 

3100 

16    X  ioj  X  10 

14.0 

54 

45 

378 

189,000 

4200 

16    X  loj  X  12 

16.7 

48 

48 

401 

200,500 

4500 

i8J  X  12    X  10 

19.2 

54 

45 

518 

259,000 

5800 

i8J  X  12    X  12 

23.0 

48 

48 

552 

276,000 

6100 

20    X  14    X  10 

26.4 

54 

45 

713 

356,500 

8000 

20      X    14      X    12 

3i-5 

48 

48 

756 

378,000 

8400 

X 

HORSE-POWER  OF   PUMP1 

A  PUMP  in  doing  a  certain  amount  of  work  is  known 
to  consume  5  horse-power.  The  pump  is  1 4  x  6  inches, 
with  15  strokes.  The  water  is  discharged  into  a  reser- 
voir, and  the  work  of  pumping  the  water  through  the 
pipe  line  requires  5  horse-power.  Required,  the  pres- 
sure per  square  inch  against  which  the  plunger  is 
pumping,  all  losses  to  be  neglected. 

The  quantity  of  water  which  the  pump  is  delivering 
must  first  be  found.  As  the  diameter  of  the  plunger 
is  ij  inches,  the  area  is  1.767  square  inches,  and  as 
the  stroke  is  6  inches  and  there  are  15  strokes  per 
minute,  i  .767  X  6  X  15  =  1 59-°3  cubic  inches  of  water 
pumped  per  minute. 

If  it  were  not  known  just  what  horse-power  the 
pump  was  consuming,  it  could  be  found  from  the 
following  formula : 

Pounds  of  water  pumped  per  minute  X  head  in 
feet  -f-  33,000. 

But  as  the  horse-power  is  known  in  this  instance, 
33,000  X  5  -i-  pounds  of  water  pumped  per  minute  = 
head  in  feet.  Since  i  pound  of  water  contains  27.7 
cubic  inches,  159.03  -h  27.7  =  5.741  pounds  of  water 

1  Contributed  to  Power  by  Frank  L.  Ferguson. 
63 


64  PUMPS 

discharged  per  minute,  so  that  by  inserting  this  value 
in  the  formula  we  have:  33,000  X  5  -r-  5.741  =  28,740 
feet  head,  which  the  water  is  pumped  against  to  con- 
sume 5  horse-power. 

If  it  is  desired  to  know  the  equivalent  pressure  per 
square  inch  acting  against  the  pump  plunger,  all  that 
is  necessary  is  to  multiply  28,740  by  0.434  =  12,473.16 
pounds  per  square  inch  pressure,  as  every  foot-head 
equals  a  pressure  of  0.434  pounds  per  square  inch. 


XI 


TO  INDICATE  THE  AMOUNT  OF  FEED-WATER 
PUMPED    INTO   BOILERS1 

IN  no  other  part  of  the  power  plant  is  there  more 
urgent  need  of  some  simple  device  for  indicating  the 
amount  of  work  being  done  than  with  the  apparatus 
for  feeding  water  into  the  boilers.  A  counter  for  re- 
cording the  number  of  pump  strokes,  a  water  meter, 
or  other  method  of  measuring  the  water,  will  show  the 
amount  pumped  during  a  given  period,  but  will  not 
indicate  the  rate  of  flow  at  any  instant.  What  is 
wanted  is  the  equivalent  of  the  ammeter  on  a  switch- 
board. The  gage  glass  cannot  be  said  to  be  this  equiv- 
alent, as  it  only  shows  the  water  level,  not  the  rate  at 
which  the  water  is  going  in.  An  engineer  who  knows 
his  plant  can  judge  fairly  well  how  much  he  is  putting 
in  by  the  speed  of  the  pump,  when  that  is  in  sight; 
but  in  many  plants  the  practice  of  locating  the  feed- 
pumps in  a  separate  room  from  the  boiler  room  often 
renders  even  this  unavailable. 

It  must  be  understood  that  these  remarks  apply 
only  to  the  normal  running  conditions  of  the  plant,  as 
of  course  when  tests  are  being  taken  suitable  provision 

1  Contributed  to  Power  by  F.  Sanford. 
6.S 


66  PUMPS 

must  be  made  for  accurately  measuring  the  actual 
amount  of  feed-water  used  during  a  given  period. 

In  a  certain  plant,  consisting  of  six  Babcock  &  Wil- 
cox  boilers,  each  capable  of  evaporating  12,000  pounds 
per  hour,  duplex  steam-driven  pumps  were  installed 
to  supply  the  necessary  feed-water.  These  were  placed 
in  the  boiler  room,  and  difficulty  was  experienced  in 
keeping  them  in  good  condition  on  account  of  coal 
dust,  which  cut  the  pump  plungers  badly  and  caused 
excessive  wear  generally. 

It  was  decided  to  install  a  motor-driven  pump  in  an 
engine  room  at  the  rear  of  the  boiler  house,  where  it 
would  be  under  the  care  of  the  engineer  and  free  from 
the  dust  and  grit.  The  controller  was  located  in  the 
boiler  room.  Current  was  obtained  from  the  3-wire 
system,  making  two  voltages  available,  which  allowed 
ample  variation  in  the  speed  of  the  pump  to  meet  the 
varying  boiler  loads.  With  this  arrangement  it  was 
found  necessary  to  provide  means  of  indicating,  so  the 
boiler  attendant  could  see  whether  the  pump  was  run- 
ning properly  and  at  what  speed. 

The  pump  was  first  tested  to  ascertain  the  amounts 
of  water  delivered  at  various  speeds  against  a  head 
equal  to  the  boiler  pressure,  and  from  these  data  a 
curve  was  plotted  as  shown  in  the  accompanying  dia- 
gram. A  small  lo-volt,  shunt-wound  generator,  such 
as  is  used  for  gas-engine  ignition,  was  connected  to  the 
pump  and  driven  by  a  belt  from  the  motor  spindle. 
The  shunt  field  was  excited  from  the  125-volt  direct- 
current  mains,  with  a  32-candle-power  lamp  in  series, 
thus  obtaining  a  practically  constant  field  strength. 


FEED-WATER   PUMPED   INTO    BOILERS 


67 


3 


g     g     g     g     g     8     8     3 

•UIH  jod  SQ^OJIS  HI  dran j  jo  poodg 


68  PUMPS 

The  voltage  obtained  from  the  small  generator  was  then 
exactly  proportional  to  the  speed  of  the  the  pump. 

The  next  step  was  to  install  a  large  illuminated-dial 
voltmeter  directly  above  the  controller,  in  which 
position  it  was  visible  from  any  part  of  the  boiler 
room.  Instead  of  showing  volts,  the  voltmeter  dial 
was  marked  to  indicate  pounds  of  water  per  minute, 
which  were  proportional  to  the  speed  of  the  pump,  as 
shown  by  the  curve.  To  check  up  the  indications 
of  the  meter  at  any  time,  it  was  only  necessary  to  take 
the  pump  speed  and  compare  the  meter  reading  with 
the  corresponding  amount  of  water  shown  on  the  curve. 
It  was  not  necessary  to  take  the  efficiency  of  the  pump 
into  consideration,  as  the  curve  was  plotted  from  the 
actual  amount  of  water  delivered  at  various  speeds. 

This  device  was  found  extremely  useful  to  the  boiler 
attendant,  who,  being  able  to  read  the  amount  he  was 
pumping  at  any  time,  and  knowing  from  long  practice 
the  variation  of  load  on  his  boilers  was  able  to  antici- 
pate the  demand  and  keep  the  water  level  constant. 


XII 

PUMPING  TAR  AND  OTHER  HEAVY  LIQUIDS 

IN  many  industries  it  is  necessary  to  force  heavy, 
viscous  liquids  through  pipes.  This  involves  diffi- 
culties not  encountered  in  ordinary  pumping,  and  re- 
quires machinery  special  in  design  and  construction. 
When  the  liquid  is  heavy  but  not  adhesive,  as  in  the  case 
of  heavy  oils,  the  action  can  be  made  fairly  satisfactory 
and  efficient  by  enlarging  the  valve  openings,  making 
the  parts  of  the  pump  heavier  and  so  arranging  the 
passages  of  the  pump  that  there  is  little  liability  of 
choking  or  clogging.  When,  however,  the  liquid  is  a 
fluid  at  high  temperatures  and  a  gelatinous  adhesive 
paste  or  a  rubbery  solid,  clinging  to  all  surfaces  and 
choking  openings  through  which  it  should  pass,  as  the 
temperature  is  lowered,  a  design  differing  materially 
from  the  ordinary  pump  must  be  used. 

Tar,  molasses  and  cocoa  liquor  present  more  obstacles 
to  pumping  than  any  other  substances  which  it  has 
been  found  feasible  to  move  in  this  manner.  Each  of 
these  liquids  thickens  into  an  almost  solid  mass  when 
cold,  rendering  it  very  difficult  to  start  the  pump,  if 
some  special  provision  is  not  made  and  ample  power 
provided.  Another  action  which  must  be  taken  into 
account  is  the  contraction  of  the  area  of  the  passages 

69 


70  PUMPS 

and  valves  as  the  liquid  cools  and  the  consequent 
throttling  which  interferes  with  the  liquid's  passage 
and  which  the  pump  is  forced  to  overcome.  The  skin 
friction  of  a  liquid  of  this  kind  creates  heat  enough  to 
partially  alleviate  this  tendency  to  throttling  when 
the  velocity  of  the  substance  is  maintained  above  a 
certain  point  and  the  pipe  is  not  in  such  a  position  that 
the  surrounding  air  will  lower  the  temperature  of  the 
liquid  below  the  solidifying  point.  Although  not  a 
common  practice,  it  is  well  to  lag  all  exposed  piping 
used  for  conveying  heavy  oils  or  other  substances  of  a 
similar  nature. 

Gas  tar  has  a  number  of  characteristics  rendering 
it  exceptionally  difficult  to  pump.  Its  condition 
varies  from  a  solid  to  a  penetrating  fluid  within  a  small 
range  of  temperature.  Two  pumps  which  have  proved 
very  efficient  in  lifting  and  forcing  gas  tar  were  in- 
stalled a  short  time  ago  at  the  plant  of  the  Maryland 
Steel  Company,  of  Sparrows  Point,  Maryland.  They 
are  of  the  standard  triplex  type,  fitted  with  ball  valves 
peculiarly  adapted  to  this  service.  The  exclusive  use 
of  gate  valves  in  the  piping  system  is  also  interesting. 
A  very  flexible  power  connection  is  obtained  by  the 
use  of  the  Renolds  silent  chain  and  a  4-pole  alternating- 
current  3-horse-power  motor.  The  gearing  consists 
of  an  i8-tooth  pinion  running  at  950  revolutions  per 
minute  and  a  i2O-tooth  wheel  running  at  142  revolu- 
tions per  minute.  The  chain  used  has  links  f-inch 
wide  and  ij  inches  long.  It  transmits  the  3-horse- 
power  generated  at  950  feet  per  minute,  giving  an 
excellent  efficiency  when  the  service  is  considered. 


PUMPING  TAR  AND   OTHER  HEAVY  LIQUIDS          71 

A  liquid  peculiarly  difficult  to  handle  is  oil-refinery 
tar,  which  is  usually  very  hot  when  it  reaches  the 
pump.  There  is  a  large  percentage  of  suspended 
particles  of  various  sizes  present  in  this  tar  and  also  a 
certain  amount  of  unrefined  paraffme.  The  tar  is 
sometimes  heated  to  a  temperature  of  300  degrees; 
but  quickly  cools  off  if  not  properly  handled,  and  coats 
the  retaining  valves  and  walls  with  layers  of  an  ad- 
hesive substance  closely  resembling  finely  divided 
particles  of  coke.  To  overcome  the  difficulties  the 
ordinary  pump  arrangement  and  design  is  materially 
changed. 

A  special  pump  for  handling  oil-refinery  tar  at  the 
works  of  the  Atlantic  Refining  Company,  in  Philadel- 
phia has  been  designed.  By  a  new  arrangement, 
exceptionally  large  valve  areas  are  made  available, 
the  valves  being  designed  to  permit  the  passage  of  the 
substance  pumped  with  the  least  possible  frictional 
resistance.  The  suction,  discharge  and  pulsation 
chambers  can  be  taken  apart  without  unnecessary 
expenditure  of  time  or  labor,  and  each  is  in  a  position 
where  it  can  be  readily  reached  for  cleaning.  The 
pump  is  of  the  triplex  type,  and  is  fitted  with  ball 
valves,  which,  through  test,  have  proved  best  adapted 
for  the  passage  of  heavy  substances.  There  are  a 
number  of  large  hand-holes  for  cleaning  the  valves. 

Machinery  which  will  pump  these  adhesive  oils  and 
other  similar  substances  can  be  used  in  many  industries, 
and  will  save  the  laborious  processes  by  which  this 
class  of  work  is  generally  accomplished. 


XIII 

PUMPING  MACHINERY  PERFORMANCES 

THE  table  which  is  on  the  opposite  page  was  com- 
piled by  a  prominent  engineer  in  studying  the  work  of 
municipal  pumping  machinery,  and  is  a  table  giving 
the  performances  of  twenty  of  the  best  known  and 
most  efficient  pumping  engines. 

The  vertical  compound  engine  (No.  2)  is  notable  as 
holding  the  record  for  a  compound  engine,  having 
shown,  on  a  6-day  test,  a  duty  of  148,655,000  foot- 
pounds, with  a  steam  consumption  of  12.15  pounds 
per  indicated  horse-power  hour,  and  having  given  an 
average  annual  duty  of  about  120,000,000  foot-pounds 
per  100  pounds  of  coal,  a  performance  equaling  that  of 
many  triple-expansion  plants. 

The  Nordberg  quadruple-expansion  engine  (No.  7 
in  the  table)  is  notable  for  having  established  the 
record  for  low  heat  consumption,  the  figures  being 
162,132,500  foot-pounds  per  1,000,000  B.T.U.,  or 
1 86  B.T.U.  per  indicated  horse-power  per  minute,  the 
thermal  efficiency  being  about  22.8  per  cent. 

The  duties  usually  guaranteed  per  1,000  pounds  of 
dry  steam  are  about  60,000,000  for  compound  con- 
densing, 90,000,000  for  triple-expansion  condensing, 
and  1 10,000,000  for  compounds  with  high-duty  attach- 
ments, and  130,000,000  for  triple-expansion  machines 
with  high-duty  attachments. 

72 


PUMPING   MACHINERY   PERFORMANCES          73 


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XIV 


GENERAL  DIRECTIONS  FOR  SETTING  UP  AND 
OPERATING   PUMPS 

IN  setting  up  a  pump  the  first  requisite  is  to  provide 
for  a  full  and  steady  supply  ofjwater  or  other  fluid. 
To  accomplish  this  observe  carefully  the  following 
points. 

The  (suction  pipe  sizes  are  given  by  various  pump 
manufacturers  in  tables  or  upon  application,  and  in 
no  case  should  the  size  of  the  pipe  be  reduced  to  less 
size  than  the  manufacturers  give.  In  some  cases 
where  the  suction  pipe  is  long  it  must  be  larger  than 
the  size  given  to  overcome  friction.  Make  the  pipe 
(connections  as  short  as  possible  )with  the  fewest  num- 
ber of  ibends  possible  and  these  as  easy  (long  radius)  as 
possible. 

In  laying  suction  pipe,  a  (uniform  grade1  should  be 
maintained,  thereby  [a voiding  air  pockets 'or  summits. 
Grade  the  suction  pipe  toward  the  supply,  with  a  drop 
of  not  less  than  6  inches  in  each  100  feet}  It  will  be 
found  economical  to  have  grade  given  by  a  civil 
engineer. 

The  suction  pipe  and  its  \connections  must  be  tight,}  as 
a  very  small  leak  will  supply  the  pump  with  air  to  its 
full  capacity  so  that  little  or  no  water  will  be  obtained, 

74 


SETTING   UP  AND   OPERATING   PUMPS  75 

according  to  the  size  of  the  leak.  Before  covering 
the  suction  pipe  it  is  recommended  that  it  be  tested 
rwith  a  pressure  of  not  less  than  25  or  more  than  50 
pounds  per  square  inch,)  to  discover  any  leaks. 

Wrought-iron  pipe  may  be  used  for  suction  pipe  of 
small  sizes,  buKcast-iron  flanged  pipe)  is  (recommended 
for  all  sizes  in  which  it  can  be  obtained.  When  bell 
and  spigot  pipe  is  used  it  should  be  laid  with  the  direc- 
tion of  the  current  from  the  bell  end  toward  the  spigot 
end. 

(All  valves  in  suction  and  discharge  pipe ;  should  be 
gate  valves. 

k( suction  air  chamber  is  an  advantage  on  long  or 
high  suctions,  and  is  particularly  recommended  for 
single  pumps,  on  all  fire  pumps,  and  any  pumps  which 
are  to  run  at  high  speed,  expecially  for  pumps  of  short 
stroked) 

A(foot-valvej  under  these  conditions, /insures  a  quick 
starting  of  the  pump  by  maintaining  the  pipe  full  of 
water  and  free  from  air.  When  a  foot-valve  is  used 
see  that  the  area  of  its  valve-seat  openings  is  not  less 
than  the  area  of  the  pipe. 

A  (strainer]  is  (always  desirable  but  not  necessary 
when  water  is  clear  and  free  from  foreign  matter  that 
will  clog  the  valves  and  passages  of  the  pump.  The 
area  of  the  strainer  openings  should  be  at  least  four 
times  the  area  of  the  pipe,  to  equalize  the  friction  of 
water  through  the  small  openings,  and  because  some 
of  them  are  liable  to  become  clogged.  When  strainers 
are  used  they  must  be  frequently  inspected  and 
cleaned. 


76  PUMPS 

Extreme  caution  must  be  exercised  while  pipe  is 
being  laid  and  pump  connected,  to  prevent  foreign 
matter,  such  as  sticks,  waste,  and  rubbish  from  enter- 
ing the  pipe.  Chips  from  threading  pipe,  sand,  etc., 
will  quickly  cut  the  cylinder,  piston,  and  valve  of  a 
pump,  doing  more  damage  than  years  of  proper  use, 
or  perhaps,  entirely  disabling  it. 

A 'priming  pipe, connected  to  a  supply  above  the 
pump  or  under  pressure  is  ia  convenience  for  quick 
starting,, and  a  necessity  for  a  fire  pump,  and  most 
large  pumps  of  all  classes. 

Hot  water  cannot  be  raised  to  any  considerable 
hight  by  suction.  [Thick  liquids  and  hot  water  should 
always  flow  to  the  pump  by  gravitation.) 

( Steam  and  exhaust^rpes  should  be  as  straight  as 
possible  and  of  the  full  size  called  for  by  manufacturer's 
tables. 

(In  connecting  the  steam-pipe,  proper  allowance 
should  be  made  for  expansion.  A  gate  throttle  valve 
should  be  placed  in  the  steam-pipe  close  to  the  pump. 
Means  should  be  provided  for  draining  this  pipe  be- 
fore starting  the  pump. 

A  heater  may  be  placed  in  the  exhaust  pipe  to  ad- 
vantage. 

To  prevent  freezing,  drain  the  pump  by  opening  all 
cocks  and  plugs  provided  for  the  purpose.  In  piping 
from  these  drips,  valves  should  be  placed  close  to  the 
pump  cylinders.  The  steam  and  water  cylinder  drips 
should  never  be  connected  into  the  same  pipe  unless  a 
check  valve  is  placed  so  as  to  close  towards  the  water 
cylinder  to  keep 'it  free  from  steam. 


SETTING   UP  AND   OPERATING   PUMPS  77 

Erecting  of  a  pump  should  be  done  by  a  thoroughly 
competent  man. 

Foundations  suitable  for  the  pump  should  always  be 
provided. 

All  pipes  should  be  properly  supported  so  as  to  re- 
lieve the  pump  flanges  from  undue  strains. 

Keep  the  steam  cylinder  well  oiled,  especially  just 
before  stopping. 

Keep  the  stuffing-boxes  well  and  evenly  filled  with  a 
good  quality  of  packing.  Don't  screw  them  too 
tight. 

Let  the  steam  end  alone  if  the  pump  begins  to  run 
badly,  until  fully  satisfied  that  there  is  no  obstruction 
in  the  water  cylinder,  water  valves  or  pipes. 

The  pump  should  be  located,  if  possible,  in  a  light, 
dry,  warm  and  clean  place  and  have  good  care.  Do 
not  overlook  the  importance  of  this  last  suggestion. 

Do  not  pull  the  pump  apart  to  see  what  is  inside  as 
long  as  it  does  its  work  well. 


XV 
USEFUL   INFORMATION 

WATER 

ONE  cubic  inch  weighs  .0361  pounds. 

One  pound  =  27.7  cubic  inches. 

One  cubic  foot  =  62.4245  pounds  at  39  degrees 
Fahrenheit;  7.48  gallons  U.  S.;  6.2321  gallons  imperial. 

One  gallon  U.  S.  =  8.331 1 1  pounds;  231  cubic  inches 
.13368  cubic  feet. 

One  imperial  gallon  =  10  pounds  at  62  degrees  Fah- 
renheit; 277.274  cubic  inches;  .16046  cubic  feet. 

One  pound  pressure  =  2.31  feet  in  hight. 

One  foot  in  hight  —  .433  pounds  pressure. 

Petroleum  weighs  6?  pounds  per  U.  S.  gallon,  42 
gallons  to  the  barrel. 

To  convert  imperial  gallons  into  U.  S.  gallons, 
multiply  by  the  factor  1.2.  To  convert  U.  S.  gallons 
into  imperial  gallons,  multiply  by  the  factor  .8333. 

A  miner  s  inch  is  a  measure  for  flow  of  water,  and  is 
the  quantity  of  water  that  will  flow  in  one  minute 
through  an  opening  i  inth  square  in  a  plank  2  inches 
thick  under  a  head  of  62  inches  to  the  center  of  the 
orifice.  This  is  equivalent,  approximately,  to  1.53 
cubic  feet,  or  i  \\  gallons  per  minute. 

To  find  ibe  diameter  of  pump  plungers  to  pump  a 
78 


USEFUL  INFORMATION  79 

given  quantity  of  water  at  100  feet  piston  speed  per 
minute,  divide  the  number  of  gallons  by  4,  then  ex- 
tract the  square  root,  and  the  result  will  be  the  diam- 
eter in  inches  of  the  plungers. 

To  find  the  number  of  gallons  delivered  per  minute 
by  a  single  double-acting  pump  at  100  feet  piston  speed 
per  minute,  square  the  diameters  of  the  plungers,  then 
multiply  by  4. 

To  find  the  horse-power  necessary  to  elevate  water 
to  a  given  hight,  multiply  the  weight  of  the  water 
elevated  per  minute  by  the  hight  in  feet  and  divide 
the  product  by  33,000  (an  allowance  should  be  made 
for  water  friction  and  a  further  allowance  for  losses 
in  the  steam  cylinder,  say  from  20  to  30  per  cent.)- 

The  mean  pressure  of  the  atmosphere  is  usually 
estimated  at  14.7  pounds  per  square  inch,  so  that  with 
a  perfect  vacuum  it  will  sustain  a  column  of  mercury 
29.9  inches,  or  a  column  of  water  33.9  feet  high  at  sea 
level. 

To  determine  the  proportion  between  the  steam  and 
pump  cylinder,  multiply  the  given  area  of  the  pump 
cylinder  by  the  resistance  on  the  pump  in  pounds  per 
square  inch,  and  divide  the  product  by  the  available 
pressure  of  steam  in  pounds  per  square  inch.  The 
product  equals  the  area  of  the  steam  cylinder.  To 
this  must  be  added  an  extra  area  to  overcome  the 
friction,  which  is  usually  taken  at  25  per  cent. 

The  resistance  of  friction  in  the  flow  of  water  through 
pipes  of  uniform  diameter  is  independent  of  the  pres- 
sure and  increases  directly  as  the  length  and  the  square 
of  the  velocity  of  the  flow,  and  inversely  as  the  diameter 


8o  PUMPS 

of  the  pipe.  With  wooden  pipes  the  friction  is  1.75 
times  greater  than  in  metallic.  Doubling  the  diam- 
eter increases  the  capacity  four  times. 

To  determine  the  velocity  in  feet  per  minute  necessary 
to  discharge  a  given  volume  of  water  in  a  given  time, 
multiply  the  number  of  cubic  feet  of  water  by  144  and 
divide  the  product  by  the  area  of  the  pipe  in  inches. 

To  determine  the  area  of  a  required  -pipe,  the  volume 
and  velocity  of  water  being  given,  multiply  the  num- 
ber of  cubic  feet  of  water  by  144  and  divide  the  product 
by  the  velocity  in  feet  per  minute. 


XVI 


USEFUL  TABLES 


HIGHTS  IN  FEET  TO  WHICH  PUMPS  WILL  ELEVATE  WATER 

STEAM  PRESSURE,  50  POUNDS  PER  SQUARE  INCH  AT  THE  PUMP 
No  ALLOWANCE  MADE  FOR  FRICTION  IN  PIPES,  ETC. 


)iameter  of 
am  Cylinders 

DIAMETER  OF  WATER  CYLINDERS   • 

ja 

*9 

a 

| 

•6 

3 

ji 

| 

| 

| 

3 

3 

| 

1 

1 

-s 

•6 

| 

M  « 

CO 

3* 

s 

S 

J 

M 

S 

X 

230 

147 

102 

75 

58 

37 

4 

300 

192 

134 

^34 

75 

48 

34 

S 

469 

300 

209 

iS3 

ill 

75 

52 

38 

6 

615 

432 

300 

221 

169 

108 

75 

55 

42 

33 

7 

i)2O 

588 

408 

500 

230 

147 

IO2 

75 

57 

45 

37 

8 

768 

533 

344 

300 

192 

141 

98 

75 

59 

48 

44 

9 

0/2 

675 

496 

380 

243 

I69 

124 

95 

75 

61 

55 

42 

10 

833 

612 

469 

300 

208 

153 

117 

94 

75 

68 

50 

^38 

12 

881 

675 

432 

300 

220 

169 

133 

1  08 

07 

75 

55 

42 

588 

108 

228 

182 

ije 

16 

TfiK 

236 

192 

98 

48 

18 

972 

650 

49O 

300 

24i 

220 

[6a 

61 

833 

600 

37° 

300 

272 

^08 

i  so 

IJ7 

75 

22 

1008 

741 

567 

448 

364 

529 

252 

185 

142 

112 

9i 

24 

88" 

675 

533 

4  S2 

i02 

?oo 

220 

160 

I  ^  ^ 

1  08 

26 

788 

626 

rnS 

l6n 

-rf, 

a  eg 

r  r-6 

28 

726 

-88 

T^T 

834 

6-76 

,68 

263 

->nS 

l69 

948 

-7  08 

697 

1070 

H68 

•786 

603 

442 

SSQ 

-68 

217 

36 

972 

88  1 

675 

495 

38o 

300 

243 

The  maximum   limit  of  piston   speed  depends  upon  the  head 
pumped  against. 

81 


82 


PUMPS 


FRICTION  Loss  IN  POUNDS  PRESSURE  PER  SQUARE  INCH 

FOR  EACH  ioo  FEET  OF  LENGTH  IN  DIFFERENT  SIZE  CLEAN  IRON 
PIPES  DISCHARGING  GIVEN  QUANTITIES  OF  WATER  PER  MINUTE 


!« 

Inch 

Inch 

Inch 

Inch 

if 

Inch 

Inch 

Inch 

Inch 

Inl 

Inch 

Inch 

6 
Inch 

•li 

j* 

jf 

Jj 

to 

to 

h 

<5l 

J| 

to 

%3 

to 

J| 

c  v 

Is 

O 

H 

IJ 

fa 

{j 

j| 

J| 
•c.S 

gj 

13 

II 

I.S 

fa 

•P 

•c.S 
fa 

II 

fa 

ii 

•-  c 

fa  "* 

II 
•c  fi 

fa'" 

s 

24.6 

3-3 

.84 

,31 

.12 

10 

96.0 

13-0 

3-16 

1.05 

•47 

.12 

15 

28.7 

6.98 

2.38 

•97 

20 

50.4 

12.3 

4.07 

1.66 

•  42 

25 

78.0 

19.0 

6.40 

2.62 

.21 

.10 

3-75 

.91 

16  i 

6  ?2 

I  60 

45 

20.  2 

8.15 

24.9 

IO.O 

2.44 

.81 

•35 

.16 

.09 

.03 

75 

56.1 

22.4 

5-32 

1.  80 

•74 

•34 

100 

39-o 

9.46 

3.20 

1.31 

.60 

•33 

.12 

•05 

4.89 

1.99 

.90 

y 

ISO 

21.2 

7.0 

2.85 

1.32 

.69 

•25 

.10 

28  I 

-    Q  - 

i  78 

200 

37-5 

12.48 

5.02 

2.32 

1.22 

.42 

•17 

19.66 

7.76 

3-55 

1.89 

.65 

a6 

28.06 

II.  2 

5.23 

2.66 

•93 

•37 

350 

.... 

15-2 

7.0 

3.65 

1.28 

•5° 

19.5 

9.0 

4-73 

1.68 

.65 

450 

25-0 

1  1.  60 

6.03 

2.10 

.81 

30.8 

14.26 

7.4! 

2.70 

06 

USEFUL  TABLES 


WEIGHT  AND   CAPACITY  OF  DIFFERENT  STANDARD   GALLONS  OF 
WATER 


Cubic 
Inches  in 
a  Gallon 

Weight  of 
a  Gallon 
in  pounds 

Gallons  in 
a  Cubic 
Foot 

Weight  of  a  cubic  foot 
of  water,  English  stand- 

Imperial or  English  .  .  . 
United  States 

277-274 
231. 

10.00 

8.3311  i 

6.232102 
7.480519 

ard,  62.  321  pounds  Avoir- 
dupois. 

42  gallons  to  the  barrel. 


Weight  of  Crude  Petroleum,  6j  pounds  per  U.  S.  gallon, 

Weight  of  Refined  Petroleum,  6  J  pounds  per  U.  S.  gallon, 

A  "miner's  inch"  of  water  is  approximately  equal  to  a  supply  of  12  U.  S.  gallons  per 

minute. 


POUNDS  PRESSURE  LOST  BY  FRICTION 

IN  EACH  100  FEET  OF  2^-iNCH  FIRE  HOSE,  FOR  GIVEN  DISCHARGES 
OF  WATER  PER  MINUTE 


•sl 


PRESSURE  AT  HOSE  NOZZLE 


I  - 

Head  in  pounds  per  sq. 

.S"N 

in  

20 

30 

40 

50 

60 

70 

80 

90 

100 

Q| 

Head  in  feet  

46.2 

69-3 

92-4 

iiS-5 

138.6 

161.7 

184.8 

207.9 

231.0 

r    Gallons  discharged  .  .  . 

no 

134 

155 

173 

I89 

205 

219 

232 

245 

! 

<  Rubber  hose,  pounds    . 

4-35 

6.40 

8.40 

10.20 

1  2.  80 

14.80 

17.0 

19.20 

20.50 

I   Leather  hose,  pounds  . 

6-33 

8-53 

10.83 

13.10 

15-34 

17-79 

20.  1  1 

22.40 

24-83 

c    Gallons  discharged  .  . 

139 

170 

I96 

2I9 

240 

259 

277 

294 

310 

ll 

\  Rubber  hose,  pounds    . 

6.79 

10.  16 

13.60 

I7-05 

20.59 

24.0 

27.0 

30.0 

33-o 

I    Leather  hose,  pounds  . 

9-05 

12.71 

16.38 

20.11 

23.88 

27.61 

3I-4I 

35-24 

39-07 

r    Gallons  discharged  .  . 

171 

210 

242 

271 

297 

320 

342 

363 

383 

T! 

I  Rubber  hose,  pounds    . 

10.28 

15.64 

20.85 

25.46 

29.50 

39-0 

45-81 

49.42 

55-o 

I-    Leather  hose,  pounds  . 

12.84 

19.0 

24.07 

30.11 

35-94 

41-57 

47-36 

53-25 

59-20 

r    Gallons  discharged  .  . 

207 

253 

293 

327 

358 

387 

413 

439 

462 

if 

\  Rubber  hose,  pounds    . 

15-0 

22.96 

29.40 

40.50 

48.20 

55-70 

64.70 

72.0 

79.26 

L    Leather  hose,  pounds  . 

18.81 

26.39 

35-01 

43.38 

52.0 

60.40 

68.59 

76.73 

84-87 

PUMPS 


HORIZONTAL  AND  VERTICAL  DISTANCES  REACHED  BY  JETS 


•8  ^ 
o^a 

PRESSURE  AT  NOZZLE 

<3  a 
"S1""1 

Head  in  pounds,  per  sq. 

rt  *N 

in  

20 

3° 

4° 

50 

60 

7° 

80 

90 

TOO 

Q   0 

Head  in  feet  

46.2 

69.3 

92.4 

115.5 

138.6 

161.7 

184.8 

207.9 

23I.O 

f 

Gallons  discharged  

no 

134 

155 

173 

189 

205 

219 

232 

245 

I     < 

Horizontal  distance  of  jet 

70 

90 

109 

126 

142 

156 

168 

178 

1  86 

Vertical  distance  of  jet   . 

43 

62 

79 

94 

108 

121 

131 

140 

148 

r 

Gallons  discharged  .... 

131 

170 

196 

219 

240 

259 

277 

294 

310 

*{ 

Horizontal  distance  of  jet 

7i 

93 

U3 

132 

148 

I63 

175 

1  86 

193 

I 

Vertical  distance  of  jet   . 

43 

63 

81 

97 

112 

125 

137 

148 

iS7 

,  r 

Gallons  discharged  

171 

2IO 

242 

271 

297 

320 

342 

363 

383 

H 

Horizontal  distance  of  jet 

73 

96 

118 

138 

156 

172 

186 

198 

207 

i 

Vertical  distance  of  jet    . 

43 

63 

82 

99 

"5 

129 

142 

154 

164 

r 

Gallons  discharged  

207 

253 

293 

327 

3S8 

387 

4i3 

439 

462 

*i 

Horizontal  distance  of  jet 

75 

100 

124 

146 

166 

I84 

200 

213 

224 

l 

Vertical  distance  of  jet     . 

44 

65 

85 

102 

118 

133 

146 

158 

169 

USEFUL  TABLES 


PRESSURE  OF  WATER 


Feet  Head  || 

Pressure  per 
Square  Inch 

1 

w 

1 

Pressure  per 
Square  Inch 

1  Feet  Head 

Pressure  per 
Square  Inch 

Feet  Head 

Pressure  per 
Square  Inch 

|  Feet  Head 

II 

uc  a1 

CLiO) 

T3 
1 

1 

Pressure  per 
Square  Inch 

I 

0-43 

32 

13.86 

63 

27.29 

94 

40.72 

225 

97.46 

385 

166.78 

2 

0.86 

33 

14.29 

64 

27.72 

95 

41.15 

230 

99.63 

390 

168.94 

3 

1.30 

34 

14.72 

65 

28.15 

96 

4L58 

235 

101.79 

395 

171.11 

4 

1-73 

35 

15.16 

66 

28.58 

97 

42.01 

240 

103.96 

400 

173-27 

5 

2.16 

36 

15-59 

67 

29.02 

98 

42.45 

245 

106.13 

425 

184.10 

6 

2-59 

37 

16.02 

68 

29-45 

99 

42.88 

250 

108.29 

45° 

195.00 

7 

3-03 

38 

16.45 

69 

29.88 

100 

43.31 

255 

IIO.46 

475 

205-77 

8 

3-46 

39 

16.89 

70 

30-32 

i°5 

45.48 

260 

112.62 

500 

216.58 

9 

3-89 

40 

17.32 

7i 

30.75 

no 

47.64 

270 

116.96 

525 

227.42 

10 

4-33 

4i 

!7-75 

72 

31.18 

"5 

49.81 

275 

119.12 

550 

238.25 

ii 

4-76 

42 

18.19 

73 

31.62 

1  20 

51.98 

280 

121.29 

575 

249.09 

12 

5-20 

43 

18.62 

74 

32.05 

125 

54-15 

285 

123.45 

600 

259-90 

13 

5.63 

44 

19.05 

75 

32.48 

130 

56.31 

290 

125.62 

625 

270.73 

14 

6.06 

45 

19.49 

76 

32.92 

i35 

58.48 

295 

I27.78 

650 

281.56 

15 

6.49 

46 

19.92 

77 

33-35 

140 

60.64 

300 

129.95 

675 

292.40 

16 

6-93 

47 

20.35 

78 

33-78 

145 

62.81 

305 

132.12 

700 

303.22 

i? 

7-36 

48 

20.79 

79 

34.21 

15° 

64.97 

310 

134.28 

725 

314-05 

18 

7-79 

49 

21.22 

80 

34.65 

i55 

67.14 

3i5 

136.46 

75o 

324.88 

19 

8.22 

So 

21.65 

8! 

35-o8 

1  60 

69.31 

320 

138.62 

775 

335-72 

20 

8.66 

5i 

22.O9 

82 

35-52 

165 

7J-47 

325 

140.79 

800 

346.54 

21 

9.09 

52 

22.52 

83 

35-95 

170 

73-64 

33° 

142.95 

825 

357-37 

22 

9-53 

53 

22-95 

84 

30-39 

175 

75.80 

335 

145.12 

850 

368.20 

23 

9.96 

54 

23-39 

85 

36.82 

180 

77-97 

340 

147.28 

875 

379.03 

24 

10.39 

55 

23.82 

86 

37.25 

185 

80.14 

345 

149-45 

900 

389.86 

25 

10.82 

56 

24.26 

87 

37-68 

190 

82.30 

35° 

I5I.6I 

925 

400.70 

26 

11.26 

57 

24.69 

88 

38.12 

!95 

84.47 

355 

I53.78 

95° 

4H.54 

27 

11.69 

58 

25.12 

89 

38.35 

200 

86.63 

360 

155-94 

975 

422.35 

28 

12.12 

59 

25-55 

90 

38.93 

205 

88.80 

365 

158.10 

IOOO 

433.i8 

29 

12-55 

60 

25-99 

9i 

39-42 

210 

90.96 

37° 

I6O.27 

1500 

649.70 

30 

12.99 

61 

26.42 

92 

39.85 

215 

93-13 

375 

162.45 

2OOO 

866.30 

31 

13.42 

62 

26.85 

93 

40.28 

220 

95-30 

380 

l64.6l 

3OOO 

1299.50 

86  PUMPS 

AREAS  OF  CIRCLES,  ADVANCING  BY  EIGHTHS 


AREAS 


Diam. 

0 

1 

1 

1 

* 

I 

1 

1 

0 

.0 

•0123 

.0491 

.1105 

.1964 

.3068 

.4418 

•6013 

i 

•7854 

.9940 

1.2272 

1.4849 

1.7671 

2.0739 

2-4053 

2.7612 

2 

3-^4 

3-55 

3-98 

4-43 

4.91 

5-41 

5-94 

6.49 

3 

7.07 

7-67 

8.30 

8-95 

9.62 

10.32 

11.05 

H-79 

4 

12.57 

13-36 

14.19 

15-03 

15.90 

16.80 

17  72 

18.67 

5 

19.64 

20.63 

21.65 

22.69 

23.76 

24.85 

25-97 

27.11 

6 

28.27 

29-47 

30.68 

31.92 

33-18 

34-47 

35-79 

37.12 

7 

38.49 

39-87 

41.28 

42.72 

44.18 

45-66 

47-17 

48.71 

8 

50.27 

51-85 

53-46 

55-09 

56.75 

58.43 

60.15 

61.86 

9 

63.62 

65.40 

67.20 

69-03 

70.88 

72.76 

74-66 

76.59 

10 

78.54 

80.52 

82.52 

84-54 

86.59 

88.66 

90.76 

92.89 

ii 

95-03 

97.21 

99.40 

101.62 

103-87 

106.14 

108.43 

110.75 

12 

113.10 

iiS-47 

117.86 

120.28 

122.72 

125-19 

127.68 

130.19 

13 

132.73 

I35.30 

137-89 

140.50 

I43-I4 

145.80 

148.49 

151.20 

14 

J53-94 

156.70 

159.48 

162.30 

165.13 

167.99 

170.87 

I73-78 

IS 

176.71 

179.67 

182.65 

185.66 

188.69 

iyi-75 

194.83 

197-93 

16 

201.06 

204.22 

207.39 

210.60 

213.82 

217.08 

220.35 

223.65 

i? 

226.98 

230.33 

233-71 

237-10 

240.53 

243-98 

247-45 

250-95 

18 

254-47 

258.02 

261.59 

265.18 

268.80 

272.45 

276.12 

279-81 

19 

283.53 

287.27 

291.04 

294-83 

298.65 

302.49 

306.35 

310.24 

20 

314-16 

318.10 

322.06 

326.05 

330.06 

334-10 

338.16 

342.25 

21 

346.36 

350.50 

354-66 

358.84 

363-05 

367-28 

371-54 

375.83 

22 

380.13 

384-46 

388.82 

393-20 

397.61 

402.04 

406.49 

410.97 

23 

415-48 

420.00 

424-56 

429.13 

433-74 

438.36 

443-01 

447.69 

24 

452-39 

457-n 

461.86 

466.64 

471.44 

476.26 

481.11 

485-98 

25 

490.87 

495-79 

500.74 

505-71 

510.71 

515-72 

520.77 

525-84 

26 

530-93 

536.05 

54i-i9 

546.35 

551-55 

556.76 

562.00 

567-27 

27 

572.56 

577.87 

583.21 

588.57 

593.96 

599-37 

604.81 

610.27 

23 

6i5-75 

621.26 

626.80 

632.36 

637.94 

643-55 

649.18 

654-84 

29 

660.52 

666.23 

671.96 

677.71 

683.49 

689.30 

695-I3 

700.98 

3° 

706.86 

712.76 

718.69 

724.64 

730.62 

736.62 

742.64 

748.69 

31 

754-77 

760.87 

766.99 

773-14 

779-31 

785-51 

791-73 

797-98 

32 

804.25 

810.54 

816.86 

823.21 

829.58 

835.97 

842.39 

848.83 

33 

855-30 

861.79 

868.31 

874.85 

881.41 

888.00 

894.62 

901.26 

34 

907.92 

914.61 

921.32 

928.06 

934-82 

941.61 

948.42 

955-25 

35 

962.11 

969.00 

975-91 

982.84 

988.80 

996.78 

1003.8 

1010.8 

USEFUL  TABLES 


AREAS  or  CIRCLES,  ADVANCING  BY  EIGHTHS 


AREAS 


Diam. 

0 

i 

i 

1 

i 

1 

i 

I 

36 

1017.9 

1025.0 

1032.1 

1039.2 

1046.3 

1053-5 

1060.7 

1068.0 

37 

1075.2 

1082.5 

1089.8 

1097.1 

1104-5 

nii.8 

1119.2 

II26.7 

38 

1134.1 

1141.6 

049.1 

1156.6 

1164.2 

1171.7 

1179-3 

II86.9 

39 

1194.6 

1202.3 

I2IO.O 

1217.7 

1225.4 

1233.2 

1241.0 

1248.8 

40 

1256.6 

1264.5 

1272.4 

1280.3 

1288.2 

1296.2 

1304.2 

I3I2.2 

4i 

1320.3 

1328.3 

1336.4 

1344-5 

1352-7 

1360.8 

1369.0 

1377-2 

42 

1385-4 

1393-7 

1402.0 

1410.3 

1418.6 

1427.0 

1435-4 

1443.8 

43 

1452.2 

1460.7 

1469.1 

1477.6 

1486.2 

1494.7 

1503-3 

I5II.9 

44 

1520.5 

1529.2 

1537-9 

1546-6 

1555-3 

1564-0 

1572.8 

I58I.6 

45 

1590.4 

1599-3 

1608.2 

1617.0 

1626.0 

1634.9 

1643.9 

1652.9 

46 

1661.9 

1670.9 

1  680.0 

1689.1 

1698.2 

1707.4 

1716.5 

1725.7 

47 

1734-9 

1744.2 

J753-5 

1762.7 

1772.1 

1781.4 

1790.8 

ISOO.I 

48 

1809.6 

1819.0. 

1828.5 

1837-9 

1847-5 

1857.0 

1866.5 

1876.1 

49 

1885.7 

1895.4 

1905.0 

1914.7 

1924.4 

1934.2 

1943-9 

1953-7 

50 

1963-5 

1973-3 

1983.2 

I993-I 

2003.0 

2012.9 

2O22.8 

2032.8 

INDEX 

PAGE 

Air  chamber  filled  with  water 16 

chamber  on  discharge  pipes 22 

suction 75 

suction,  cause  of  knock      17 

suction  pipe  breaking  vacuum     31 

Allowance  for  expansion 76 

Area  of  required  pipe 80 

Areas  of  circles    86,  87 

Atlantic  Refinery  Co.,  pumping  oil- refinery  tar 71 

Atmosphere,  mean  pressure 79 

Auxiliary  valve,  leaky     32 

Bell  and  spigot  pipe 75 

Boiler  feed-pumps 60,  62 

Brainerd,  S.  L 1 1 

Break  in  cylinder-head  gasket    22 

in  valve 3 

B.t.u.,  i.h.p.,  min.,  pumping  engines     73 

Broken  seats  of  suction  and  discharge  valves   3 

valve 3 

water  valves 3,  8 

Capacity  of  different  standard  gallons  of  water   83 

of  feed-pumps 60,  61,  62 

pumping  engines 73 

Cast-iron  suction  pipe 75 

Causes  of  pump  troubles 3 

Centrifugal  pump  trouble 58 

Check-valves,  need  of  examining 7 

89 


9o  INDEX 

Checks  covered  with  scale 

Circles,  areas    

Cleaning  seats  and  valve-studs     

Clearance  on  valve  rod  in  duplex  pump 

Cocoa  liquor,  pumping 

Connections  of  suction  pipe,  tight 

Correcting  unequal  stroke 

Crack  caused  by  low  water 

caused  by  water  freezing  in  steam  cylinder 

Cross-exhaust  valve 

Curve  showing  amounts  of  water  delivered  at  various  speeds . 

Cushioning  pulsations  in  discharge 

Cylinder-head  gasket,  break  in .  • 22 

low-pressure,  cause  of  groan 12 

oil,  too  heavy     4,  28 

proportion  between  steam  and  pump    79 

repairing .  .  .34,  36 

steam,  oiling     77 

water,  not  in  line  with  steam  cylinder 29 

Diameter  of  pump  plungers 78 

Discharge  pipes,  arrangement 2 

pipes,  inspecting i 

valves,  broken  seats 3 

foreign  matter  in 3 

Disk,  loose  3 

valve,  facing 37 

Distances  reached  by  jets 84 

Drain-cocks,  opening  after  pump  has  been  idle 8 

valves,  closing 9 

Draining  pipe 76 

pump  to  prevent  freezing 76 

Duplex  pump 43 

pump  valves,  setting 1 2,  55 

Duties  guaranteed  per  1000  pounds  of  dry  steam 72 

Duty,  in  foot-pounds  per  1,000,000  B.t.u.,  pumping  engines.  .  73 

in  foot-pounds  per  1000  pounds  steam    73 


INDEX  91 

PAGE 

Efficiency,  mechanical,  pumping  engines 73 

thermal,  pumping  engines    73 

Engines,  pumping,  performances    73 

Equalizing  pressure  in  exhaust  pipes 46 

Erecting  pump 77 

Exhaust  pipe,  heater 76 

Expansion,  allowance  for 76 

Facing  valve  disks 37 

Factory,  supplying  with  hot  water 2 

Failure  to  draw  water    3 

to  force  water 38 

furnish  water    8,  9,  10,  29 

receive  water 1,3 

Feed-pipes,  arrangement 2 

-pipes,  inspecting i 

obstructed 6 

valve  open i 

-pumps,  boiler    60 

capacity 60,61,62 

not  furnishing  water   10 

sizes    61,62 

speed 60,  61 ,  62 

-water  pumped  into  boilers,  indicating  amount 65 

Feeding  graphite  mixture  to  pump 4 

Ferguson,  Frank  L 63 

Foot-valve  75 

-valve  of  suction  pipe,  leaky 3 

Foreign  matter  in  pipe 76 

matter  in  suction  or  discharge  valves 3 

Foundations    77 

Freezing,  preventing    76 

Friction  loss    83 

loss  in  pounds  pressure  per  square  inch    82 

resistance 79 

Gage  glass  on  air  chamber    16,22 


92  INDEX 

PAGE 

Gallons  delivered  per  minute,  finding   79 

imperial  and  U.  S 7  8,  83 

per  minute,  boiler  feed-pumps 62 

revolution,  boiler  feed-pumps    62 

Gas  tar,  pumping, 70 

Gasket,  cylinder-head,  break  in    22 

Gate  throttle  valve 76 

valves 70,  75 

Gland,  stuffing-box   1.9,  20 

stuffing-box,  repairing  thread 41 

Grade  in  laying  suction  pipe 74 

Graphite  mixture  to  cure  groaning 4, 13 

Grinding  valve-seats  in  place 38 

Groaning 29 

cured  by  graphite  mixture 4,  13 

due  to  alternating  hot  and  cold  water 26 

in  low-pressure  cylinders    12 

noise  in  pumps 4 

Hammer,  water,  at  mid-stroke    16 

Hard  packing   17 

Head  end,  defective  valve    14 

pumping  engines    73 

Heater  in  exhaust  pipe 76 

Heavy  cylinder  oil 4,  28 

liquids,  pumping    69 

Hights  in  feet  to  which  pumps  will  elevate  water 81 

Horizontal  distances  reached  by  jets 84 

Horse- power  consumed  by  pump 63 

-power,  indicated,  pumping  engines 73 

of  boiler  supplied  at  45~lb.  rate,  boiler  feed-pumps 62 

of  pump 63 

to  raise  water,  finding .  .  79 

Hot  water  cause  of  scale    9 

water  for  factory    2 

impossible  to  raise  to  considerable  hight  by  suction 76 

valves,  cleaning    9 


INDEX 


93 


PAGE 

Imperial  gallons 78,  83 

Inch,  miner's    78 

Indicated  horse-power,  pumping  engines 73 

Indicating  amount  of  feed-water  pumped  into  boilers    65 

Irregular  running 13 

Jahnke,  H i 

Jerky  running 13 

Jets,  distances  reached 84 

Knock  at  beginning  of  stroke,  cause  and  remedy 15 

due  to  air  in  suction 17 

Knowles  single-cylinder  steam-pump 8 

Lagging  exposed  pipe  used  for  conveying  heavy  oils    70 

Leak  caused  by  vibration    16 

detecting    15 

in  foot-valve  of  suction  pipe    3 

suction  pipe 74 

water  valves 3 

Leaky  auxiliary  valve 32 

packing  in  stuffing-box 19,  20 

on  water-piston 3 

valves 14 

water  valve 24 

valves,  repairing 7 

Length  of  stroke,  regulating    46 

Lift,  maximum 15 

too  high 3 

Location  of  pump    77 

Loose  disk 3 

Loss,  friction 82,  83 

Lost  motion    8 

motion  in  duplex  pump    46 

in  duplex  pump  valves 57 

valve-gear 12 


94  INDEX 

PAGE 

Low-pressure  cylinders,  cause  of  groan 12 

water  in  boilers    10 

Lubricating  water  end  rods  and  plungers 18 


Maryland  Steel  Co.,  pumping  gas  tar   70 

Mean  pressure  of  atmosphere 79 

Mechanical  efficiency,  pumping  engines    73 

Miner's  inch 78,  83 

Molasses,  pumping    69 

New  plant,  starting  pumps    i 

Nickel,  F.  F 43,  60 

Noise,  groaning,  in  pumps 4 

No rd berg  quadruple  expansion  engine 72 

Nut  for  holding  gland  in  place  in  stuffing-box 20 

Oil,  cylinder,  heavy 4,  28 

-refinery  tar,  pumping 71 

Oiling  steam  cylinder   77 

Open  valve  in  feed-pipe   i 

Operating  pumps 74 

Outside-packed  plunger  type  of  pump 17 

Packing  a  piston  pump 17 

burnt  out,  remedy 58 

cause  of  wear 12 

hard • 17 

in  water-piston,  need  of  examining 7 

water-piston,  too  tight 4 

leaky,  in  stuffing-box 19,  20 

on  water-piston 3 

making  pliable 17 

removing 21 

soft 17 

stuffing-boxes  77 

too  tight 17 


INDEX 


95 


PAGE 

Performances  of  pumping  machinery 72,  73 

Petroleum,  weight  per  gallon;   gallons  to  the  barrel 78,  83 

Pipe  connections    74 

increase  in  capacity  due  to  doubling  diameter     80 

Piston  pump,  packing 17 

-ring  edges,  sharp 4 

speed,  ft.  per  min.,  boiler  feed-pumps     62 

maximum  limit 81 

of  pumping  engines 73 

Plungers,  lubricating 18 

pump,  finding  diameter 78 

Pound  due  to  break  in  cylinder-head  gasket    . 22 

in  direct-acting  pump 24 

pumps    3 

water  cylinder  at  end  of  stroke 21 

Pounds  per  horse-power  per  hour  to  be  delivered  to  boiler 

by  feed-pump 61 

per  hour,  boiler  feed-pumps 62 

pressure  lost  by  friction    83 

Pressure  against  which  a  plunger  is  pumping    63,  64 

in  exhaust  pipes  equalizing    46 

mean,  of  atmosphere 79 

of  water 85 

pounds  lost  by  friction    83 

steam,  pumping  engines   73 

water  not  delivered  against    26 

Priming  pipe 76 

Proportion  between  steam  and  "pump  cylinder 79 

Pump,  duplex 43 

groaning  noise    4 

horse-power 63 

not  drawing  water 3 

feeding  water  to  boilers    I 

pound  in    3 

repairs 34 

setting  up  and  operating      74 

troubles   i,  1 1,  19,  28 


96  INDEX 

PAGE 

Pumping  machinery  performances 72,  73 

tar  and  other  heavy  liquids 69 

Quantity  of  water  delivered  by  pump 63 

Quick  stroke,  cause  and  remedy 24 

Refacing  leaky  water  valves 7 

Regulating  length  of  stroke 46 

Renolds  silent  chain    70 

Repairing  cracked  cylinder    34,  36 

in  place,  thread  on  inside  of  stuffing-box  gland 41 

pump 34,  36 

Resistance  of  friction 79 

Rods,  lubricating 18 


Sanford,  F 65 

Scale  around  valve-studs  9,  29 

in  feed-pipes      6 

on  checks 7 

Seats  of  suction  and  discharge  valves,  broken  3 

Sediment,  cause  of  trouble 26 

Setting  duplex  pump  valves 55 

up  pumps    74 

valves 12 

Sharp  piston-ring  edges  4 

Sizes  of  suction  pipe 74 

of  feed-pumps .\ 61,  62 

Slide  valves  of  duplex  pump 43 

Slow  running,  cause 6,  7 

Soft  packing 17 

Speed  of  feed-pumps 60,  61,  62 

piston,  maximum  limit 8 1 

of  pumping  engines 73 

Starting  pumps  in  new  plant i 

Steam  cylinder,  oiling  : 77 

i.h.p.,  hour,  pumping  engines   73 


INDEX 


97 


PAGE 

piston  not  making  full  stroke    28 

pressure,  pumping  engines 73 

Stopping  at  end  of  stroke 8 

Strainer   '.  75 

full  of  fine  sand 24 

to  keep  out  sediment 26 

Strokes  per  minute,  boiler  feed-pumps    62 

regulating  length    46 

sudden,  cause 13, 14 

unequal,  correcting 6 

Studs,  too  short    20 

Stuffing-box  gland 19,  20 

-box  gland,  repairing  thread    41 

keeping  tight  and  cool 58 

packing    77 

Suction  air  chamber    75 

pipe,  cast-iron 75 

grade    74 

obstructed 3 

sizes   74 

testing    75 

tight 74 

too  small 3 

valves 75 

wrought-iron 75 

valves,  broken  seats '     3 

foreign  matter  in    3 

Supply  pipe  clogged    3 

pipe  too  small 4 

Supporting  pumps 77 

Tables,  useful 81 

Tar,  pumping 69 

Testing  suction  pipe    75 

Thermal  efficiency,  pumping  engines   73 

Thick  liquids  should  flow  to  pump  by  gravitation    76 

Tool  for  truing  up  valves 38 


98  INDEX 

PAGE 

Trouble,  centrifugal  pump 58 

pump i,  1 1,  19,  28 

causes  3 

Unequal  stroke,  correcting 6 

U.  S.  gallons 78,  83 

Useful  information 78 

tables 81 

Vacuum  broken  by  expansion  and  contraction  of  air  in  suction 

pipe    31 

Valve,  cross-exhaust    46 

disks,  facing    37 

duplex  pump,  setting 55 

gate 70,  75 

throttle 76 

-gear,  lost  motion 12 

open  in  feed-pipe i 

-seats,  cleaning 9 

grinding  in  place    38 

scale  on 9,  29 

setting    12 

slide,  of  duplex  pump 43 

-studs,  cleaning 9 

scale  around 9,  29 

troubles   i,  3,  7,  8,  13,  14,  24,  29,  32 

water,  examining 7 

Velocity,  determining    80 

Vertical  compound  engine,  performance 72 

distances  reached  by  jets   84 

Vibration  cause  of  leak 16 

Water  cylinder  not  in  line  with  steam  cylinder v  29 

delivered  at  various  speeds 66,  67 

by  pump  63 

end,  defective  valve 13,  14 

examining  for  trouble 77 


INDEX  99 

PAGE 

rods  and  plungers,  lubricating 18 

troubles    n 

hammer  at  mid-stroke 16 

not  delivered  against  pressure 26 

forced 38 

picked  up    15 

received i,  3 

supplied 8,  9,  10,  29 

-packed  pump 59 

-piston,  leaky  packing ^  . . . .  3 

packing,  need  of  examining .-f 

packing  too  tight ,4. 

pressure 85 

supply 74 

insufficient 24 

useful  information 78 

valves,  broken 3,  8 

examining   7 

leaky 24 

prevented  from  lifting     3 

refacing    7 

Weight  of  different  standard  gallons  of  water 83 

Wrought-iron  suction  pipe 75 

Yoke  end,  defective  valve 14 


OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 

AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  SO  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  $1.OO  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


NOV    101943 

NOV   11  1943 

MAS    131948 

llMay'61RR 

p~,"VD  LD 

mftV  0  A    V\f\\ 

MAi  &**  WD* 

IA\I  ^  0  t9&5  0  4 

HOV  *  u 
HEC'D 

llfll/    1   j*    trtf       >V     A  1  * 

NOV  19  '65-9  AM 

LOAN  DEPT. 

. 

VB   16083 


196489 

•T2iC 


